Discernment

Jen Wilkin

If you are considering commenting or sending me an e-mail objecting to the fact that I warn against certain 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.


This article is kept continuously updated as needed.

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. The teacher below is someone I’ve been asked about recently, so I’ve done a quick check (this is brief research, not exhaustive) on her.

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 most of the teachers I’m asked about (there are so many out there!) and have not had the opportunity to examine their writings or hear them speak, so most of the “quick checking” I do involves 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). Partnering with false teachers and women preaching to men are each sufficient biblical reasons not to follow a pastor, teacher, or author, or use his/her materials.

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).

If you’d like to check out some pastors and teachers I heartily recommend, click the Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.


Jen Wilkin
Not Recommended

Jen is a womenโ€™s Bible study author, blogger, and conference speaker, and until 2023, when she left to focus on her own ministry, was on staff at The Village Church as the Executive Director of Next Gen Ministries (TVC’s ministry to “children and students ages 0โ€“18”).

Link / Screenshot

Jenโ€™s older books and Bible study materials have a reputation for being generally doctrinally sound. Iโ€™ve published a review of Jenโ€™s book, Women of the Wordand here is one readerโ€™s take on her book 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ:

โ€œโ€ฆin the foreword Jen wrote, โ€˜a paraphrase, such as the NLT orย The Message,* can be useful but should be regarded as a commentary rather than a translation.โ€™ However, aside from that, I have found no other problems with the book at all. It is an eight week long study of 1 Peter based on the method of Bible study that she writes about inย Women of the Word. My favorite thing about this study is that it causes us to focus on what the text is telling us about God. I love how Jen Wilkin is teaching women to study the Bible properly. I wish she would be more discerning about who and what she endorses though. There are so few women who bring us solid teaching and discernment.โ€

*Please see “February 2026 Update” at the end of this article. Jen Wilkin herself brought to my attention that in later editions of this book, she removed her reference to the NLT from this sentence. She did not explain why, but my guess would be (and she has thus far not corrected me) that she removed “the NLT” because The New Living Translation is considered to be a translation, and Jen mistakenly referred to it as a “paraphrase”.

The reader’s concern (and mine, too) in mentioning this quote, however, is not that Jen mistakenly called the NLT a paraphrase, but that Jen recommended The Message as an acceptable paraphrase. You need only to click on the link above to see why this is concerning.

Also in the past, Jen limited her speaking engagements and teaching to audiences of women, which is the biblical parameter for Christian women teachers. And although her website speaking engagement request form says she is a โ€œteacher who helps womenโ€ฆโ€ she has been increasingly preaching to and instructing men in recent years.

For example, Jen’s former staff position as TVC’s “Executive Director” of children’s and student ministries, depending on the exact nature of her job responsibilities, probably (I am making a reasonable inference, as TVC’s website does not explicitly say) required her to teach Scripture to, or exercise improper authority over young men in the student ministry (which includes students through age 18) and men who teach or volunteer in the student ministry. The title “Executive Director” makes it sound as though she was over the entire ministry and everyone in that ministry was under her purview.

A more recent example demonstrating Jen’s increasing rebellion against Scripture regarding the role of women in the church is the Gospel Centered Discipleship “Preaching Cohort” in which Jen is a “Coach”. She (along with the other coaches) is described as a “seasoned Bible preacher and teacher,” and will be coaching pastors “on the calling and craft of preaching”.

In the past, there have also been questions about exactly where Jen stood on the biblical role of women in the church. She presented herself -and still does- as a complementarian, stating clearly that women are not to hold the office of pastor. What she did not make clear in the past, but what has become abundantly clear in recent years, is that she is (or has developed into) what’s often called a “soft” or “narrow” complementarian. This is the belief that women can do anything men can do in the gathering of the church body except hold the office of “senior pastor” – women can preach the Sunday sermon, hold any other office in the church (for many that includes the office of elder, “associate pastor,” etc.), exercise authority over men in the church, and so on. This is unbiblical. And what’s dangerous here is that Jen doesn’t call herself a “soft/narrow” complementarian, she just calls herself a complementarian, leading Christians who haven’t kept up with her to think she holds a biblical position and practice of the role of women, when she, in fact, does not.

As an example of Jen’s murkiness on the role of women, in the video* below (~32:05), she says:

“We need [women’s] visible leadership. How visible? As visible as your church’s complementarianism allows.”

This remark is at best, unhelpful, and at worst, opens the door for women and pastors to rebel against Scripture. The biblical answer to this question (aside from the fact that the church should be far more focused on servanthood than leadership) is: Women may serve in any position in the church that does not require them to preach to, teach Scripture to, or exercise authority over men, and which does not violate any other principles of Scripture.

Whatever position on the role of women Jen may have held in the past, she is now a “soft/narrow complementarian,” which is, in reality, a functional egalitarian.

In addition to the aforementioned preaching cohort in which Jen instructs pastors, she has spoken at several co-ed conferences in recent years. Give the first 15 minutes of the video below a listen*. Despite the fact that Jen’s very first remark is that she is not teaching the Bible in this session for pastors and church planters, she almost immediately goes on to quote and allude to the opening chapters of Genesis (and later in the video, other passages) and teach on them. I would challenge you to listen to what she says and ask yourself, “If I heard a pastor give this type of instruction, would I consider it a sermon/Bible lesson?” I think most of us could easily answer, “yes”. *(Unfortunately, the full length video of Jen’s complete teaching session has been removed from the internet. The video below is an excerpt of the full length video.)

(This is also the teaching session in which Jen made her infamous remarks about menstruation helping women to understand the gospel differently from men, which is not only a private and potentially uncomfortable subject to address in public – especially for an audience of men – it’s a patently ridiculous teaching. Menstruation teaches us nothing about the gospel. The two subjects are completely unrelated. Also, aside from Jen, I’ve never heard a single woman say her period helped her better understand the shedding of Christ’s blood.)

In another instance of preaching to a co-ed audience, Jen has been featured as a speaker multiple times at The Gospel Coalition’s national conference* at least as far back as 2017. (In the opening seconds of this 2017 TGC conference session, Why Itโ€™s Good that God Is Different from Us, Jen acknowledges and welcomes the men in her audience.) TGC, as many have noted, has been on a woke / social justice trajectory for years. Jen has been featured on TGC’s site numerous times.

*Jen has also been a featured speaker at TGC’s women’s conference (TGCW), not to be confused with TGC’s national conference, which is co-ed.

Again, one of the reasons it’s especially problematic for Jen to be teaching men, or to even to seem to be teaching men, is that she openly and unashamedly wears the label of complementarian. Boldly proclaiming complementarianism while teaching men muddies the waters and confuses the women who follow her as to what the Bible truly teaches about the role of women in the church. Are there times when it is technically not a violation of Scripture for a woman to speak with men in the audience? Yes (see #7 here). But weigh the impact Jen has on the church by speaking to men against the counter-evangelicultural impact someone of her stature could have by flagrantly refusing to teach men. Which would cause more people to sit up and take notice, set a better example for Christian women, and have a more biblical influence on the church?

Another concern about Jen is that she seems to be increasingly associating and appearing with false or problematic teachers.

In 2013, Jen wrote a blog post entitled, The Next Beth Moore in which she spoke glowingly of Beth Moore, her teaching, and one of her books. She has also had several friendly and/or affirming interactions with Beth on X, and has pointed women to Beth’s writing. Jen has appeared on the IF: Gathering podcast with Jennie Allen (to discuss and promote Women of the Word), and has written a devotional for Lysa TerKeurstโ€™s Proverbs 31 blog.

(Screenshots: 1, 2, 3 {page 1}, 4 {page 2})

During LifeWay’s 2018 Abundance conferences, Jen appeared alongside Lisa Harper, Raechel Myers, Amanda Bible Williams, Christine Caine, Jennie Allen, Kelly Minter, Whitney Capps (of Lysa TerKeurst’s Proverbs 31 Ministries), and others.

L-R: Christine Caine, Lisa Harper, Raechel Myers, Whitney Capps, Amanda Bible Williams, Jen Wilkin, Jamie Ivey

In August 2020, Jen appeared at LifeWay Women Live with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Jackie Hill Perry, Kelly Minter, Angie Smith, Jennifer Rothschild and Kristi McLelland.

LifeWay Women Live 2020 Speakers

Several years ago, Jen was added to LifeWay Women’s stable of Women’s “Bible” study authors including many of the aforementioned teachers and others. In addition to my normal concerns about someone yoking with false teachers (i.e. the Bible says not to, and disobeying God’s Word is a sin), I’m guessing LifeWay Women may have initially signed Jen in order to use her – that is, her reputation for being a doctrinally sound teacher and a complementarian – to lend credibility to the false teachers they promote. And, of course, Jen’s previously perceived good reputation has suffered by being associated with these false teachers.

In March 2021, when Beth Moore cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, Jen offered this glowing farewell…

In a strange irony, in the midst of unbiblically partnering with these false teachers, in her session, The Gospel and The Future of Bible-Centered Discipleship at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention Pre-Conference (also to a co-ed audience), Jen teaches the following…

[Biblical literacy] guards against false teaching…Basic comprehension-level mastery of the text guards against false teaching. (~30:12)

You know what our [discipleship] formula has been for the last 20 years? [We’ve said], ‘We’re going to keep making [the level of biblical teaching] lower and lower’…It is our high calling, in the face of a biblical literacy crisis, to raise the bar in an age of low expectations. (~43:40…44:39)

And yet, Jen’s level of “mastery of the text” – to the point that she is instructing people in the text and teaching them how to improve discipleship – has not sufficiently guarded her against partnering with women who are largely responsible for the bulk of false teaching aimed at women today, who don’t teach “basic comprehension-level mastery of the text,” and who have continued to lower the bar and perpetuate low expectations for biblical literacy. Jen has associated with, talked to, and listened to the teaching of these women far more than I have, I’m certain. How does she not see this?

Finally, in the same way that the influence Steven Furtick has on Lysa TerKeurst as her pastor is worrisome, Iโ€™ve seen some things over the years with Jenโ€™s pastor, Matt Chandler, and his wife, Lauren Chandler (with whom Jen has appeared at conferences; screenshot), that have given me pause.

As a member of The Village Church, Jen is pastored by Matt, and as a ministry leader there (though no longer a staff member), she works under his direction and influence. Over the past few years, Matt has publicly praised or affirmed false teachers like Ann VoskampBeth Moore, and Jesus Culture. He has raised some questions about the extent of his continuationism with His notorious “pirate ship prophecy“. He allows Bethel and Israel Houghton (Joel Osteenโ€™s former worship leader) music to be used for worship at his church. Matt allows his wife, a worship leader at TVC, to select this music, and to yoke with and be influenced by numerous false teachers. Matt and Lauren and their associations with false teachers have undoubtedly influenced Jen. Additionally, Matt’s character and personal integrity were sullied in 2022 when he had to take a leave of absence after admitting to an “inappropriate” texting relationship with another woman.

(Screenshots: 1, 2, 3. 4)

In summary, I would urge you not to follow Jen Wilkin, attend her conferences, or use her materials due to her trajectory of increasingly unbiblical teaching and behavior.


Additional Resources:

Articles on Jen Wilkin by Elizabeth Prata

Talk Back: Jen Wilkin and The Gospel Coalition at A Word Fitly Spoken

TGCW24- Mark and Avoid

Prior to February 14, 2026, this small section appeared in the above indicated area of this article:

On February 13-14 Jen Wilkin and I had an exchange on X in which she said, โ€œI have never said the Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ€ (see image 2 below)

I looked into it, and Jen appears to be correct. Here’s what J.D. said:

The first part of J.D.’s statement, “We ought to whisper about what the Bible whispers about and we ought to shout about what it shouts about,” was a quote of Jen. J.D. then added his own opinion, “…and the Bible appears more to whisper when it comes to sexual sin…” to the end of the quote of Jen, making it sound like the entire quote was something she said.

I apologize – to Jen and to my readers – for making this mistake, and ask your forgiveness. I hope my character speaks for itself when I assure you that this was simply a misunderstanding of an unclear statement. It was not a fabrication, nor was it done maliciously. But I am still sorry for making the mistake and for any negative consequences it resulted in for Jen or anyone else.

This point, however, was not the only thing Jen took issue with about this article, as you can see from the images in the slideshow above. Here is the original exchange. My response to Jen’s allegations is below in article format for ease of reading:

Hi Jen- Iโ€™m the author of the article, and Iโ€™m happy to correct any factual or biblical mistakes. For others reading this whoโ€™d like to follow along, Jen is saying my article on her contains โ€œbasic factual errors in it … To say nothing of something that misrepresents a fellow believerโ€™s character and actionsโ€.

I apologize for the length of this answer, but I wanted to address all of your concerns clearly, accurately, biblically, and citing sources:

โ€œComment re: the NLT is inaccurate. I have said that in ref to earlier versions (pre-2004), but havenโ€™t said it in years.โ€

First, this is a quote from an email I received from a reader commenting on your book 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ. I introduced the quote by saying, โ€œJenโ€™s older books and Bible study materials have a reputation for being generally doctrinally sound.โ€ (I also linked to a positive review on my blog of your book Women of the Word in which I actually recommended [at that time] that my readers buy themselves a copy of it. The readerโ€™s quote begins:

โ€œโ€ฆin the foreword Jen wrote, โ€˜a paraphrase, such as the NLT or The Message, can be useful but should be regarded as a commentary rather than a translation.โ€™…โ€

I checked the most recent version of your book (2024 edition; sample on Amazon), of 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ, and youโ€™re correct, youโ€™ve removed the part about the NLT. The quote now says, โ€œa paraphrase, such as The Message, can be useful but should be regarded as a commentary rather than a translation.โ€.ย 

My guess is that you removed โ€œthe NLT [New Living Translation]โ€ because itโ€™s considered a translation, not a paraphrase. Is that correct? If not, please feel free to explain. Iโ€™m glad to add a note to the article saying that youโ€™ve removed the phrase โ€œthe NLTโ€ from that sentence in later editions, and if you have a link to an article or other material that explains why you removed it, Iโ€™ll be happy to add that link as well.

So just to clarify here, the quote from your book (in which you mistakenly called the NLT a โ€œparaphraseโ€) actually is accurate. You are the one who changed it in later editions, presumably to correct your error. So this is not, in fact, a โ€œfactual errorโ€. The readerโ€™s quote was accurate.

However, the primary concern here is not that you mistakenly called the NLT a โ€œparaphraseโ€ instead of a translation (if thatโ€™s why you removed the part about the NLT), or even that you recommended the NLT. The primary concern is that you recommended – and, apparently, STILL recommend- The Message, one of the worst, most grossly inaccurate โ€œparaphrasesโ€ out there, written by Eugene Peterson, who, along with mangling the text of Scripture, wrote a cover endorsement for the heresy-laden book, โ€œThe Shack,โ€ and said he would officiate a same sex wedding.

But you still cite The Message as an acceptable paraphrase to use. So that part is factually correct.


Your next concern was: โ€œI am not described as a preacher on the GCD website.โ€

Here, youโ€™re misquoting me and either misunderstanding or misrepresenting what the article actually says (so youโ€™re the one guilty of a โ€œbasic factual errorโ€ in this case).

The article contains a screenshot of the GCD (Gospel Centered Discipleship) web page picturing you and describing the event, and quotes directly from that web page. This is the actual quote from my article:

โ€œ…the Gospel Centered Discipleship โ€œPreaching Cohortโ€ in which Jen is a โ€œCoachโ€. She (along with the other coaches) is described as a โ€œseasoned Bible preacher and teacher,โ€ and will be coaching pastors โ€œon the calling and craft of preachingโ€.

The point of these two sentences is that you will be instructing pastors on how to be better pastors/preachers, when this is unbiblical and you have no place doing so. Neither of these sentences says that GCD called you, specifically, a โ€œpreacherโ€. (Additionally, albeit tangentially: just from a logical perspective, why would GCD engage someone who isnโ€™t a pastor and isnโ€™t qualified to be a pastor to instruct pastors about being better pastors? Thatโ€™s like a hospital hiring someone who isnโ€™t a doctor and isnโ€™t qualified to be a doctor to instruct doctors about being better doctors.)


Finally, you said, โ€œI have never said the Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ€

In this instance, youโ€™re correct. Hereโ€™s what I said in the article: โ€œAnd remember when J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, got himself into all kinds of hot water for saying in a sermon, โ€œThe Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ€œ? He was quoting Jen Wilkinโ€ฆโ€ 

My statement was based on a misunderstanding of JDโ€™s quote in the video of his sermon. He was quoting you when he said, โ€œWe ought to whisper about what the Bible whispers about and we ought to shout about what it shouts about,โ€ but then added HIS OWN thought to the end of that quote, and HE stated his opinion that โ€œthe Bible appears more to whisper when it comes to sexual sin compared to it shouts about materialism and religious Prideโ€.

I apologize for getting that wrong. Iโ€™ll be glad to remove that small section entirely. Iโ€™ll make a note in the article, and explain publicly on social media, how I got that wrong, along with a public apology to you, both in the article and on my other social media platforms. Iโ€™m very sorry for my mistake there.


โ€œIโ€™ve also been clear about my complementarianism on more podcasts than I can count.โ€

Yes, youโ€™ve said youโ€™re a complementarian, but as I accurately explained in the article, youโ€™re not using the original definition of โ€œcomplementarianโ€. Youโ€™re using the current, twisted definition of complementarian, i.e. women can do anything in the church that men can do except hold the office of pastor. Thatโ€™s what used to be called โ€œsoft complementarianismโ€ or โ€œnarrow complementarianismโ€ and it is functional egalitarianism. Iโ€™m not the one in โ€œfactual errorโ€ here.

Calling yourself a โ€œcomplementarianโ€ and using that twisted definition is -whether you intend it to be or not, and Iโ€™m assuming โ€œnotโ€- deceptive and misleading. Itโ€™s similar (Iโ€™m using this strictly as an analogy, not accusing you of heresy) to Mormons saying, โ€œWe believe in Jesus,โ€ when the Mormon version of Jesus is very different from what Scripture says about Jesus.

Furthermore, as a Southern Baptist, Iโ€™m sure youโ€™ve heard (as have I), our leadership say regarding women preaching to men, โ€œThe function IS the office,โ€ meaning that a woman functioning in the role of pastor -i.e. preaching- is usurping the office of pastor, as Dr. Albert Molher explains here in refutation of the definition of โ€œcomplementarianismโ€ you espouse, namely, that โ€œa woman ought to be able to doโ€ฆor authorized to do everything a non-ordained man can do.โ€


โ€œThereโ€™s an assumption of motive in several places, a tendency to sensationalizeโ€ฆโ€

This is your personal, subjective opinion, not a โ€œfactual errorโ€.ย 

Youโ€™ll need to specifically quote at least one of these โ€œseveral placesโ€. And I would remind you that what you characterize as โ€œassumption of motiveโ€ the Bible would likely characterize as, โ€œout of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaksโ€ (Luke 6:45) and/or โ€œYou will know them by their fruitโ€ (Matthew 7:16,20). But until you cite a specific โ€œassumption of motive/tendency to sensationalizeโ€ we canโ€™t know for sure, I canโ€™t apologize if something is, in fact, an unbiblical โ€œassumption of motive,โ€ or โ€œsensationalism,โ€ and this is an unsubstantiated accusation.ย 


โ€œan extremely broad use of the term โ€œpreachโ€

No broader than the Bibleโ€™s definition. The actual prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12, as Iโ€™m sure you know, is against women โ€œteachingโ€ men. Preaching is just one form of teaching.ย 


โ€œI donโ€™t expect that we would agree on the definition of preaching, but I do have one that falls well within comp boundaries.โ€

As evidenced by the fact that you preach to men, your definition of preaching falls well within the aforementioned current twisting of โ€œcomplementarianโ€ boundaries: functional egalitarianism, which unbiblically allows women to preach to men.ย 

There is no definition of women preaching to men that falls within traditional complementarian boundaries because traditional complementarianism – which simply describes what the Bible says about the role of women in the church- does not allow women to preach to men.


โ€œRather than engage with those differing definitions,โ€

I did โ€œengage with those differing definitionsโ€. I compared your so-called โ€œcomplementarianโ€ definition of preaching to men – i.e. โ€œitโ€™s OK for women to preach to menโ€ – to Scripture. Scripture forbids this. Engagement over.


โ€œshe simply characterizes me as โ€˜preaching to menโ€™โ€ย 

I didn’t “characterize” you as preaching to men, I flat out stated a fact: You preach to men. Thereโ€™s plenty of evidence of it in the article. If youโ€™re going to preach to men why not just proudly and unashamedly say so and clearly enumerate your reasons for doing so, rather than preaching to men and then going around and saying, โ€œIโ€™m not really preaching to men, Iโ€™m really a complementarian.โ€? If itโ€™s OK for you to preach to men, you should be able to easily back up that assertion with clear, rightly handled (2 Timothy 2:15), in context Scripture.


โ€œand a โ€˜functional egalitarianโ€™โ€ย 

You are. When you function like an egalitarian by preaching to men, youโ€™re a functional egalitarian.


โ€œin an effort to discredit my ministry to women.โ€

Your โ€œministry to womenโ€ should be discredited because youโ€™re teaching them to disobey Scripture. Every time you stand up and preach to men, your behavior is teaching women (and men) that if they come to a command of Scripture they donโ€™t like (like 1 Timothy 2:12), theyโ€™re free to ignore it and disobey it. That teaching is false doctrine and a defiance of Scripture, and should, therefore, be discredited (and thatโ€™s only one of the points in the article – Iโ€™ve cited many other reasons why your ministry should be discredited).


โ€œThis is, at best, a shallow engagement with my position.โ€

No it isnโ€™t. Your position is in direct conflict with the plain and clear teaching of Scripture. Concisely demonstrating that (and linking to two other articles refuting your position and explaining at length what the Bible says about the role of women in the church) is not โ€œshallow engagementโ€.


โ€œPreaching is done by a particular person in a particular context, that is, by the pastor/elder/qualified man in the Sunday gathering.โ€

Where does the Bible specifically say that, rightly handled and in context? Chapter and verse, please.


โ€œMy perspective is that I should be in glad submission to my elders. Here is the position paper that informs their approach:โ€

Christians are first and foremost to be in glad submission to Scripture, because Scripture is infallible and perfect, and elders – as your pastor, Matt Chandler, has amply demonstrated over the last several years – are not.

So if your elders are not upholding what Scripture teaches, and you are submitting to them, both you and your elders are in disobedience to Scripture, which is the standard for Christians.

Nevertheless, in the document you cited, your own elders say this:

So your own elders say that publicly preaching the Word to the gathering of the church is restricted to men.

We often have to clarify to Believers and unbelievers alike that the โ€œchurchโ€ is not the building we meet in, itโ€™s the people – Christians. So whenever Christians are gathered for the purpose of worship, instruction in the Scriptures, etc., it is a gathering of the church, and the prohibition of women teaching men applies.

But, in any event, the document makes clear on p. 55 that this is the position of โ€œthe role of women at The Village Church.โ€ My article doesnโ€™t deal with you preaching at TVC, but at other gatherings of the church outside TVC, so TVCโ€™s policy for TVC is irrelevant to those events.


โ€œThe short version [of the TVC document] is that any gathering that is not the Sunday gathering does not require to be taught by an elder.โ€

I didnโ€™t see that statement or any statement similar to that in the document, but I may have missed it. What page is that on? 


โ€œThat being said, my ministry is primarily to women, so mixed gatherings are pretty rare.โ€

1. โ€œRareโ€ does not equal โ€œnot sinfulโ€. You still need to repent of preaching to men and stop doing it.

2. It doesnโ€™t look โ€œrareโ€ considering all of the instances Iโ€™ve cited in the article (and including any instances I may have missed and havenโ€™t included).

3. It isnโ€™t โ€œrare,โ€ as though you used to preach to men and no longer do. This is something youโ€™re continuing to do and currently doing. The GCD Cohort in which youโ€™ll be unbiblically instructing pastors started less than three weeks ago.


So, to summarize, you found one actual error of fact in this entire, lengthy article (which I apologized for and will gladly delete and explain to my audience). The remainder of the article – dealing with far more than youโ€™ve brought up here – is correct and is not โ€œbasic factual errorsโ€ or a โ€œmisrepresentationโ€ of your โ€œcharacter and actionsโ€.

And by implying that the article, overall, consists of โ€œbasic factual errorsโ€ and โ€œmisrepresents [your] character and actions,โ€ you have actually misrepresented my character and actions.

But all of that aside, whatโ€™s more important here is you. I care about you, and I hate to see you going down the same road that so many of your Lifeway Women compatriots – like Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, Priscilla Shirer, etc. – have gone. 

I have taken a moment to pray for you, and, in love, I urge you to repent of the sins of preaching to men, yoking with false teachers, and the other things Iโ€™ve cited in the article, for the glory of God, for the good of your own soul before Christ, and for the biblical discipleship of your followers.

Mailbag

The Mailbag: Should I Say, or Should I Go?

 

My family recently left a church that was embracing more and more New Apostolic Reformation false doctrine. However, we have many friends and family still attending. I’ve tried to lovingly point out that the church is teaching false doctrine, but I have been completely shut down. I don’t want to leave my loved ones where they are, but I feel they don’t want to see or hear the truth. They tell me they’ve searched the Scriptures and feel they are right. They also talk a lot about the feelings and experiences they have had and that, in their eyes, proves it’s God moving. My question is, how much should I engage with them? Should I just walk away and pray or keep talking with them about it?

It’s so heart-wrenching to love someone who blindly rejects the truth. We kind of “get it” on a spiritual level when that person is an atheist or just your run of the mill lost person, but if the person is a self-professed Christian – who is supposed to believe, love, and submit to God’s Word – it can seem especially baffling and difficult.

So how do we handle situations like this? Let’s back all the way up to the very foundation of the issue for those who haven’t yet faced this situation.

We have to start by making sure we have the correct understanding of what’s going on here. Every human being, whether he knows it or not, lives in two worlds: the physical world of everyday “real life” (tangible things, people, and decisions we consciously see,) and the spiritual world (where God moves and works and where demons try to thwart Him by stirring up chaos in the world) that we can’t see and that most people aren’t even aware of.

So the first thing we have to recognize in a situation like this, is that this is primarily a spiritual battle, rather than a tangible one. The fact that, in the physical realm, you clearly recognized the false doctrine in this church and acted upon that knowledge by leaving is the fruit of what God did in your heart in the spiritual realm. The things your loved ones have said to you and their decision to stay in an apostate church in the physical realm is the fruit of the fact that they are deceived, hard of heart, and probably unsaved, in the spiritual realm.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
1 Timothy 4:1-2

A spiritual realm problem requires a spiritual realm solution, and only God – not us – can effect true change in the spiritual realm.ย Heย must change the hearts of your loved ones. And until or unless He does, you can talk to them until you’re blue in the face and they will continue to dig their heels in.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.
John 6:44a
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

So the number one thing you should be doing in this situation is toย pray. Ask God to intervene and do the work in their hearts that only He can do. Ask Him to open their eyes. Ask Him to woo them toward studying His Word. Ask Him to save them if they aren’t saved.

And while you’re down there on your knees, pray for yourself and ask God to help you study hard to understand His Word about this situation, and to give you the wisdom to know when to speak up and when to keep silent. Because, while God is the One doing the work, He works through His Word, using instruments like you and me to accomplish His work, much like a doctor uses instruments to perform surgery.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Ecclesiastes 3:1,7a

Once you’ve asked God to guide you and give you wisdom, believe His Word and trust Him to do so. If you’re with one of these loved ones, and the time seems right to say an appropriate, biblical word, take a second to get your demeanor and tone in order, and then say it.

But, as you’ve said, you’ve already tried to talk biblical sense into your loved ones and they have rejected it. Now what? Should you just walk away and pray, or keep talking with them about it? Yes. There’s actually room for both in situations like this. Let’s take a look at a few biblical passages:

And behold, a man came up to [Jesus], saying, โ€œTeacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?โ€ And he said to him, โ€œWhy do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.โ€ He said to him, โ€œWhich ones?โ€ And Jesus said, โ€œYou shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,ย  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.โ€ The young man said to him, โ€œAll these I have kept. What do I still lack?โ€ Jesus said to him, โ€œIf you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.โ€ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples…
Matthew 19:16-23a
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
1 Peter 3:1-2
If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.
1 Corinthians 7:13-15

What do these passages have in common? They all help us to understand that:

  • not everybody we share the gospel with or impart biblical truth to is going to accept it.
  • we are under no obligation to chase people down or badger and nag them to death with biblical truth once we’ve shared it (and this may even do more harm to our cause than good).
  • it’s OK to share the truth and then back off for a while while, praying fervently, loving well, and setting a godly example.
  • it’s OK to let people to walk away from the truth once you’ve shared it.

It is perfectly OK to say to people who are hostile to the truth, “I love you and I’d like to share more of what the Bible says about this with you. If you’d ever like to talk more about it, just let me know. Now how about a piece of pie?”

And Jesus even goes further than that:

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.
Matthew 7:6

In Jesus’ day, dogs were not the cute little domesticated pooches we smooch on today. They were wild beasts more akin to a pack of coyotes or wolves. Pigs were the epitome of unclean animals and can be pretty violent when provoked. Jesus used these animals’ violence and uncleanness to represent lost people (regardless of whether or not they call themselves Christians) who respond in blasphemy, unbelief, and anger to the Pearl of Great Price. He’s saying that if you know a person has a history of acting this way and is likely to act this way again (e.g. Paul, prior to conversion), or if you’ve laid out biblical truth to someone and she responds with blasphemy, anger, and unbelief (e.g. your loved ones) it’s OK to climb out of the pig pen or the dog pound (or don’t get in there in the first place), take your pearls, and go home. God is demonstrating to you through this person’s behavior that He has not, at this particular time, softened this particular person’s heart to hear and receive what you’re saying. If He does soften that person’s heart in the future (as evidenced by her distinctly undoglike and unpiglike behavior) you can share the truth with her then.

Every person is different. Every situation is different. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of when to engage and when to keep silent. And that’s actually a good thing. That keeps us in prayer, completely dependent on the Lord and His Word for guidance.


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 (Iโ€™ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition ofย The Mailbag) or send me anย e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Favorite Finds

Favorite Finds ~ March 3, 2020

Here are a few of my favorite online findsโ€ฆ

“Why is the doctrine of justification by faith alone so important? Luther said that sola fide is ‘the article upon which the church stands or falls.’ As R. C. Sproul puts it, ‘We are either justified by a righteousness that is in us or by a righteousness that is apart from us. There is no third way.’ This short work surveys the main tenets of the doctrine of justification in Roman Catholicism and evangelicalism.”

Enjoy reading this FREEย e-book from R. C. Sproul,ย Justified by Faith Alone.

Have you ever wondered where Paul’s wife was when he was gallivanting all over the world preaching the gospel? Denny Burkย exploresย  Paul’s marital status through Scripture in this excellent article, Was the apostle Paul married? Yes, he was. Hereโ€™s how we know. (Also included: the audio to Denny’s sermon on this topic, in case you’d like to listen.

Some of God’s attributes are communicableย and some are incommunicable.ย Which of God’s attributes do humans, made in the imago dei (image of God) possess, and which attributes belong only to God? Check out this helpful resources from CARMย (Christian Apologetics & Resource Ministry), What are the communicable and incommunicable attributes of God?

The Master's Seminary“By Godโ€™s help may we not retreat from the fight for truth. May we be all the more invigorated by a love for our Lord, His truth, and His people. And may this commitment be evident to all as we discern with precision, humility, and sorrow.”ย Reagan Roseย has a wonderful article about exercising love when practicing discernment over at TMS’s blog: The Danger of Loveless Discernment.

What’s the difference between Baptists and Presbyterians and Lutherans and Methodists and all the other Protestant denominations out there?ย Dr. Gregory Wills of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary explains the basic similarities and differences in What’s the Difference between Christian Denominations?.


The resources listed above are not to be understood as a blanket endorsement for the websites on which they appear, or of everything the author or subject of the resource says or does. I do not endorse any person, website, or resource that conflicts with Scripture or the theology outlined in the Statement of Faith and Welcome tabs at the top of this page.
Discernment, Guest Posts

Guest Post: Lauren Daigle and the Fruit of “Losing her Religion”

If your theology pretty much matches up with mine (as outlined in the โ€œWelcomeโ€ and โ€œStatement of Faithโ€ tabs) and youโ€™d like to contribute a guest post, drop me an e-mail at MichelleLesley1@yahoo.com, and letโ€™s chat about it.

Lauren Daigle and the Fruit of “Losing Her Religion”
by Laura M.

“It would be a sad dishonor for a child of God to be the world’s favorite. It is a very bad sign to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout, “Well done!” to the Christian…Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where the Lord found a crown of thorns.” ย CH Spurgeon

Lauren Daigle is a 28 year old Grammy award winner. In her short career she has won many awards, secular and Christian. She has four number one songs to date and many more at the top of the billboard charts. She has over 1 million Facebook followers, and an abundance of world tour dates that she alone headlines. Her Look Up Child album just reached double platinum. She is wildly popular in the church and on Christian radio stations.

The secular world is now also paying attention. What have they learned? This is an interview with Billboard.comย 

โ€œ’My home church is right here,’ [Lauren] says, gesturing toward the stage. โ€˜Itโ€™s right here, every night.'”

“Daigle doesnโ€™t preach, onstage or off. In between songs at the show, she told goofy stories —ย like one about her misadventures in physical therapy —ย but never mentioned Jesus.”ย 

That one interview said a lot –no church, means no pastor, no teaching, no growing…no obedience.

Sure, she is fun and cool and trendy and sincere in her desire to use her talents, but is that enough to be labeled a Christian artist? Even she does notย want to be described that way, having determined to drop the word “Christian”. Yet, Christians have her at the top of their “worship” playlists.

Should we consider her as purely secular entertainment? Christian words and a great voice filled with sincerity do not make worship acceptableย before God.

โ€œWhen we talk about worship, weโ€™re talking about something very specific, very objective, revelatory, unfolded for us on the pages of Scripture. It is not private, it is not personal in the sense that you define it yourself. It doesnโ€™t rise out of your intuition. It doesnโ€™t rise out of your experience. It doesnโ€™t rise out of your imagination. It isnโ€™t the invention from your own mind of what you want it to be. True worship is simply treating God in the way that God has commanded us to treat Him. Thatโ€™s what it is.โ€ The Kind of Worship God Desires, John MacArthur

We should have a great concern about the platform and influence that many so called “worship leaders” have in the church today. ย Many Christians incorrectly assume that if the words are not heretical and make them “feel” good, it must be acceptable worship. Lauren Daigle is growing in her platform and influence and we should take a discerning look at whether this is a wise choice for Christians. Is the fruit of Lauren’s โ€œReligionโ€ good or bad?

Her Partnerships

Here are just a few, Stephen Furtick andย Jesus Culture,ย Joyce Meyer , Hillsong, Bethel Church and hereย Lauren is leading “worship” at Bethel.

Michelle has already written much about these false teachers and churches.

Her Testimony

Can you tell what is missing? She does not start with Christ. ย Does she finish with Him?ย She was interviewed by the Young Salvationistย here (it seems they have removed it since we copied the text).ย 

The interviewer asked her,ย “Please share with our readers how you came into a relationship with Jesus Christ?”

โ€œWhen I was 15 yearsโ€“old I was diagnosed with a debilitating virus. Itโ€™s kind of funny how God sets things up, as I was super busy. I was in high school running all over the place and God stopped me โ€“ He stopped me in my tracks. I was placed on homebound rest for two years with this illness. It was during that season when I truly began to know God and His character. He gave me hope the entire time; I wasnโ€™t going through this for any reason. This wasnโ€™t just the lot I was handed in life. No, I knew, I could tell, God was setting me up for something and I needed to stay focused.

So, every morning I would get up and read my devotionals and every night before bed. Soon I started making my own devotionals. The Word was filling me up so much and during a season when I was completely alone… During that time, God would give me visions and dreams of the season that Iโ€™m walking through now!ย He affirmed me and who I was in Him. He showed me that my placement had to be with Him and He began to teach me that He was my comforter, He was my portion and He was my foundation. I was baptized when I was a little girl, raised in the church, and a part of a Christian family; but it changed from that to God being my source, my Savior.”

This is typical of many who have their own personal dream and attach God’s name to it. She did not say how she was changed and she did not once mention Christ or sin or the Cross. Did she mention reading the Bible? A Scripture perhaps? No, only visions.

Her website would surely have a larger testimony for us to read. However, I did not find one. The most “spiritual” she got was stating,

“Itโ€™s about remembering what itโ€™s like to be a child again and to look up and see the clouds, the sunset, and the stars. Itโ€™s about having hope once more. You can always come back to yourself. You can come back to the things you thought were lost. You can always come back to redemption.”

She doesn’t say anything about Christ. Instead she is pointing to childhood memories, the clouds, the sunset, stars. What is the basis of renewed hope? How does one come back to yourself?

In another interview,ย she says, (of her teen years)

โ€œAnd I kept having all of these dreams about tours, awards, charts and all of these different stages Iโ€™d be on. And I was like, โ€˜God what is this about? … Then He affirmed me...โ€ย 

From fear and uncertainty sprang resistance as Daigle made the personal decision to not pursue Christian music, despite messages from God telling her otherwise. โ€œI told the Lordโ€”yes I told Him, โ€˜Iโ€™m not going to do Christian music! Iโ€™ll sing whatever You want me to sing, Iโ€™ll do whatever you want me to do in the mainstream world, but Iโ€™m not doing Christian music.โ€™โ€

She took her personal dream of stardom and attributed it to God. ย There is much danger in this kind of mystical dream interpretation. It may have come to pass, but God does not affirm pursuit of the praise of men and I cannot say this is anything more than her pursuit of a personal desire.

The Praise of the World and Views on Sin

“The most effective servant of the Gospel of Christ crucified is crucified to the world and its applause.” ย Mike Riccardi

Lauren said, “she will not compromise her faith while traveling the world ministering to those outside of the church…She vowed that her testimony would not be destroyed in any way.”

However, this is her response to being criticized for being on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Ellen is an open and proudly lesbian woman.

โ€œI think the second we start drawing lines around which people are able to be approached and which arenโ€™t, weโ€™ve already completely missed the heart of God,โ€ Daigle said during a recent interview withย WAY-FM Radio.

Lauren missed the point, this is not about kindness it’s about being foolishly and sinfully drawn to the world and then affirming them because they have affirmed her. Jesus clearly drew lines in Matt 7.

And yet…after being on the Ellen DeGeneres show, she capitulatedย on her conviction not to compromise.

“Do you feel that homosexuality is a sin?”

After a pause, she responded: “You know I can’t honestly answer on that…I have too many people that I love that, they are homosexual, I don’t know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it and I was like ‘I can’t say one way or the other, I’m not God’โ€ฆ

Pastor Gabe Hughes responds to this interviewย in a short video titled,ย Lauren Daigle doesn’t know if homosexuality is a sin?

And now, not surprisingly, Lauren Daigle Takes Issue with the Label โ€˜Christian Artistโ€™

“After being in a spotlight of controversy for weeks regarding her stance on homosexuality, well-known Christian artist Lauren Daigle is now saying she doesnโ€™t consider herself a Christian artist, but simply an โ€œartist”….Interestingly enough, the young artist did not mention Jesus or God throughout the interview, sticking to general phrases like โ€œfaith,โ€ while placing a large emphasis on the importance of love.”

It is not acceptable to equivocate on sins that Christ died to save us from. ย He died for us to be reconciled to the Father, because we are without hope of saving ourselves, not for everyone to “feel” loved.

A 2019 article states,

“She admits the transition from a majority Christian audience to a more secular one has already been a โ€œrideโ€ and hints at theย negative commentsย sheโ€™s been receiving from fans and others who are concerned the singer is leaving her Christian roots.ย Daigle seems unphased by the pushback, though. โ€œRisk is the best. Risk is the most beautiful thing,โ€ she says with a smile.” source

And yet 4 years before in 2015, she said,ย 

Godโ€™s not a God of risks. He just says, โ€˜Trust me,โ€™ because He has it all under control. To us, in our human life, it looks like a risk, but Heโ€™s like, โ€˜No, Iโ€™m God. I got this.โ€™โ€ source

This Christian Post article interviews her as well, sharing,

“Daigle went on to share a story about a megachurch pastor which was asked to step down from his ministry and lost his church, after having an affair with his secretary.

Lauren said,

I could see privately that he had some things to reconcile and I just thought about the nature of the church, to push out someone that operated in humanity,” she explained. “It’s so easy to push those people away or to build the white picket fence around our ideologies that create this counterculture that completely denies just the love of Christ, the grace of Christ, the mercy of Christ, and rejects the relationship with Christ.”

Lauren has an unbiblical view of sin, it is not in her testimony, it is not calling homosexuality the abomination that the Bible does, and it sympathizes with the poor pastor who disqualified himself by the most egregious sin against his wife. These are not the words of someone who submits to the authority of Scripture.

The Bible does not mince words (1 Cor 6:11) and neither should anyone who has been washed of the sins we have been so graciously forgiven and desire this to be true of others.

She also provocatively named a song, Losing My Religion and then comments,ย 

“This is an age where I am learning, what I believe in. We have a song on there that record called ‘Losing My Religion’ and I think one of the things that I’ve learned and one of the things that I’m embracing is the freedom of taking off the checked boxes, the rules, and all those things that kind of muddy up what faith actually isโ€ฆ

Unfortunately, she has muddied her faith and is influencing many who flock to her and find the same muddy waters. This is exactly what we would expect from someone who claims that her church is her “stage”.

She excuses her decision to crossover by pointing to Avril Lavigne, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin because they sing a few gospel songs as well. “Thereโ€™s all these people from back in the day that did this thing as well, where they had both. And I feel like history always repeatsย itself.โ€ Billboard interviewย  Not great role models.

Remember, it is OK to be fruit inspectors, not just of false teachers but of everyone, fruit always gives evidence of the source of life. (Matt 7:17-20) We rejoice when we find good fruit and we warn when it is bad.

Lauren is leading โ€œworshipโ€ to the masses she has before her.ย She seems to love the world, clings to false teachers and obfuscates clear Biblical teaching when given opportunity to proclaim it. As Christians, would it not be better to stop supporting her and so give her the wakeup call she needs rather than the praise and attention she is getting for bad fruit? If she does have a clear testimony of saving faith why is it not front and center for us to see? ย 

Letโ€™s pray she would get off the stage and into a Biblical church to be taught well how to worship in โ€œspirit and truth.โ€ (John 4:23), and give opportunity for a pastor and church family to care for her soul. (Heb 13:17)


Laura and her husband Scott have been married 25 years and have three children. They live in a suburb of Philadelphia and NYC, where they have recently planted a church. She also writes with a few friends at Where Ordinary Life Meets Divine Truth as a ministry to the local women they are privileged to disciple.

Discernment

Discernment IS Love

I’m often accused of being “unloving” for writing in a direct or firm tone against false doctrine and other unbiblical issues in the church.

I received another such accusation recently on one of my older articles, “Nine Reasons Discerning Women Are Leaving Your Church“. I thought I’d share my response to the reader with you, because it seems there’s a misunderstanding among Christian women as to the biblical definition of love. It ain’t always “sugar and spice and everything nice” y’all…

“I donโ€™t think you have a complete understanding of the biblical definition of love. You seem to think that โ€œloveโ€ is restricted to always being sweet and nice to people. Thatโ€™s not biblical.

–Was Jesus being unloving when He cleared the temple? (Matthew 21)
–Was Jesus being unloving when He rebuked the Pharisees? (Matthew 23)
–Was Jesus being unloving when He instructed us to disfellowship unrepentant sinners from the church? (Matthew 18:15-20)
–Was Paul being unloving when he turned Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan so they would learn not to blaspheme? (1 Timothy 1:19-20)
–Was Paul being unloving when he anathematized anyone who preaches a false gospel? (Galatians 1:6-9)
–Was Peter being unloving when he described false teachers in 2 Peter 2?
–Was Jude being unloving when he wrote to the brothers warning them about the evils of false teachers instead of writing about the gospel?

Am I being unloving in writing this article? No. Reproof, rebuke, and biblical instruction are all part of godly love. I am demonstrating love for Christ, His Bride, and His Word by pointing out biblical error that needs to be corrected. I am demonstrating love for ignorant pastors and churches by explaining to them why their most spiritually healthy members are leaving. I am demonstrating love for the thousands of doctrinally sound Christians out there who long to attend a healthy church and canโ€™t find one because so many churches are in error in the areas I mentioned. And, I am demonstrating love for you by helping you understand what Godโ€™s definition of love is.

Is this article loving? You bet it is.”

Additional Resources:

I Canโ€™t Sit Down, Shut Up, and Play Nice

Discernment: Whatโ€™s Love Got to Do with It?