Welcome to another โpotpourriโ edition of The Mailbag, where I give short(er) answers to several questions rather than a long answer to one question.
Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.
I tried subscribing to your blog using the email subscription box, but I wasn’t able to. Here’s my email address. Can you do it for me?
First of all, thank you so much to all of you who subscribe (or are trying to) to the blog via email. I really appreciate it.
I’ve received this question from two or three of y’all over the past couple of weeks, so I reached out to WordPress (my blog host) just to make sure there wasn’t anything technologically wrong. They checked things on their end and said everything seemed to be working fine, and indicated that a number of people had been successful in subscribing to the blog via email in recent days. So, after chatting with the customer service guy for a few minutes here are some suggestions we came up with if you’re having trouble subscribing via email:
Unfortunately, I cannot subscribe to the blog for you. You have to do it yourself, so sending me your email address and asking me to subscribe for you won’t work.
Try using a different device. For example, if you’re trying to subscribe on your phone, switch to your computer, or try using a friend’s phone.
Try clearing your browser cache
Make sure you’re typing in your email address correctly- no typos – and into the correct box (the one that says “enter your email address”).
If all else fails, ask a friend who’s there with you to help.
If nothing works, you can always follow me on social media. I post my blog articles on my social media accounts every day.
I’m going to say “yes,” but with some New Testament provisos:
Examine your heart first. What is motivating you to want to pray an imprecatory prayer against this person? Do you hate her? Want revenge? Are you jealous of her? If the motive of your heart is ungodly, you need to deal with that first. You should not enter into any sort of prayer about anything if your motives are sinful (unless, of course, you’re praying that God will change your motives!)
Just as God’s greatest desire for you was for you to repent and be forgiven in Christ, that should be your greatest desire for others. Do you desire, from the heart, that God would save this person, or do you find yourself hoping God will hurt her or send her to Hell? Again, examine the motives of your heart.
It’s never wrong to ask God to stop someone from sinning or to protect you or others from that person’s sin. (Which is not the same as an imprecatory prayer).
Is the person you want to pray the imprecatory prayer against someone you know personally? If so, a better prayer would be to ask God to help you love her, forgive her, and give you opportunities to be a godly influence on her.
Is the person you want to pray the imprecatory prayer against someone you don’t know and have virtually no access to such as a well known false teacher or an evil governmental leader? This is probably the best fit for praying what we would think of as an imprecatory prayer. When I pray for false teachers, here’s what that prayer generally sounds like:
Dear Lord- I pray for Teacher X. Would you please pour out your grace and mercy on her, give her the gift of repentance, and graciously save her? However, You know all things, and you know whether or not she will be saved. If You know she will not bow the knee to Christ, I am asking You to please remove her from all positions and relationships of influence she has. Even though I know that You may be using her as an instrument of judgment against those who want their itching ears scratched, I am asking you to show mercy – to her, to them, and to the visible church – by sitting her down and shutting her up. But whatever You decide, I trust You.
Some people would probably say that’s not really an imprecatory prayer, and I might agree with them, but, to me, that’s what an imprecatory prayer sounds like when run through a New Testament filter.
We have a co-ed small group in our home which my husband leads, however due to work, sometimes he is gone. There isnโt another person who feels comfortable enough to lead so I usually just keep us on track by getting us through our questions which are based on Sundayโs sermon. So, does this mean that when my husband is gone, we should cancel our Small Group?
Though it is very servant-hearted and loving toward your husband and church for you to be willing, you should not be leading the group when your husband is gone. There would be nothing wrong with reading aloud some questions you’ve been provided if that’s all it was, but I would assume the leader has to at least provide some biblical guidance. What if someone answers a question with false doctrine that needs to be biblically corrected? What if no one can answer the question and answering it yourself requires you to teach Scripture to the group? That’s going to put you in the position of possibly violating Scripture and/or your conscience by teaching the Bible to a mixed group. That’s not fair to you or to the group.
Here are some things I would suggest:
If your husband can change his work schedule around or change the date or time of the small group meeting so he doesn’t have to be absent (at all or as much), that would be helpful.
Your husband should talk things over with your pastor and ask him for suggestions of other men (outside the group) who can lead when he has to be gone.
I’m sorry, but there’s no other way to say this (and please understand, this is not directed at you, personally, but a general statement about so many churches these days). The men in your group need to man up. I’m sorry they feel uncomfortable, but that has never been a biblical excuse for men failing to do what God has called them to do – lead. Barak felt uncomfortable doing what God had called him to do, and look how that turned out. Godly men manage to find a way to do things that make them uncomfortable all the time out of obedience to Christ. Your husband can mentor them, the pastor can train them, whatever. They all need to get together, figure it out, and step up. This shouldn’t be something you even need to worry about. It’s not your burden to carry, it’s theirs.
And besides that, you’re uncomfortable too, aren’t you? At least uncomfortable enough to write and ask me whether or not you should be doing this or if the meeting should be canceled. So you – a woman – feel uncomfortable about doing something you shouldn’t be doing but you have to do it anyway, but these men feel uncomfortable about doing something they should be doing – leading – and they don’t have to do it because they feel uncomfortable? Does that sound biblical? Or even fair?
Perhaps it’s time for evangelical pastors and elders to start giving some thought to what is going on in the culture of their churches that makes men comfortable slacking off and shoving their God-given responsibilities off onto the shoulders of women.
So no, it shouldn’t come down to you leading or canceling the meeting all together. The best and healthiest thing that could happen here is for the men to step up and lead.
Iโve discovered your podcast and started listening to the one on how to study the Bible. You speak of LifeWay in it. Am I to avoid ANY and all books and authors they sell/endorse on their website? Like Mr. X Preacher and Mr. Y Author? I have a library full of books listed on LifeWay!
We started off the episode by discussing how not to study the Bible, and one of our first points was that you should not use “Bible” studies authored by false teachers. I gave a list of some of the best selling women’s “Bible” study authors to avoid (Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, Priscilla Shirer, Christine Caine, etc.), and then I followed that up by saying this:
And Iโm going to add one more. This is actually the first time Iโm publicly saying this, and as a Southern Baptist, it pains me to say it, but if you need a quick way to rule someone out without doing hours of research on an author youโre not familiar with, I would avoid any author or conference speaker promoted by LifeWay Women – thatโs the womenโs division of LifeWay.
Now hear me, Iโm not saying that every woman in LifeWay Womenโs stable of womenโs Bible study authors is necessarily unbiblical or a false teacher, but the majority of them are – certainly enough that I feel comfortable saying you could use their endorsement as a litmus test of who to avoid.
I was specifically talking about authors and conference speakers endorsed and promoted by LifeWay Women (the women’s division of LifeWay). I wasn’t talking about LifeWay in general, and I wasn’t saying that every single author you can find in LifeWay’s online store is a false teacher.
What I was trying to get across is this: Say you’ve heard of a new women’s Bible study by Jane Doe. You’ve never heard of her and don’t know anything about her, but you’ve heard other women raving about her. You’re wondering, “Is Jane Doe doctrinally sound?”.
I’m saying if you go to the LifeWay Women website and you see Jane’s picture plastered all over the place as their latest and greatest author and conference speaker, she’s probably not doctrinally sound, and if you don’t have time to read the book and compare all of her teachings to Scripture, you can take their endorsement of her as a signal that you should probably avoid her.
A brief note on the two particular men you mentioned. I would not recommend either of them – not because their materials are sold by LifeWay, but because there are theological issues with both of them. If you want to listen to or read some godly pastors and authors who rightly handle Scripture and will help you grow properly in Christ, please check out the Recommended Bible Teachers tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page. (If you need the list narrowed down a little, I would recommend starting with John MacArthur, Steve Lawson, Gabriel Hughes, or Josh Buice).
Iโm trying to remember the name of a recent release book that warns of singing the Hillsong/Bethel songs in church but Iโm drawing a blank! Can you help me? I thought Costi Hinn wrote it but he just helped promote it maybe?
I personally haven’t read any recent books that I recall mentioning this (lots of blog articles, videos, podcasts, etc., but not books).
It is possible that Costi mentioned this in one or both of his books, Defining Deception or God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel (both of which I would highly recommend). I’ve read both, but it’s been a couple of years, so I don’t remember whether or not he specifically mentioned churches using Hillsong, Bethel, etc., music in either of them. I know he has mentioned it several times on his blog and podcast.
The only other book that keeps coming to mind is Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel by Kate Bowler. It’s not really recent, and I only read part of it when it first came out (2013), so I don’t know if she deals with that subject or not. But it keeps coming to mind, so I thought I’d mention it. (And if nothing else, it’s a very good reference book.)
Readers, any ideas which book (not online articles, podcasts, videos, etc. – BOOK) this sister might be thinking about? Comment below.
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 (Iโll 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.
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)ย 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.ย 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).ย 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 theย Recommended Bible Teachers tab at the top of this page.
Jackie Hill Perry Not Recommended
“Jackie Hill-Perry is a writer, speaker, and artist…[she shares] the light of gospel truth through teaching, writing, poetry, and music as authentically as she can.” Jackie is a Christian hip hop and spoken word artist who has released two albums, and two books. She first began to gain a following with her debut book, Gay Girl, Good God, her personal testimony of God saving her out of a life of rebellion and homosexuality.
Jackie’s initial foray into public ministry had her associating with well known Reformed (or, Reformed-ish) organizations with a reputation for doctrinal soundness such as Desiring God and The Gospel Coalition. She was even featured in the film American Gospel: Christ Alone, a documentary which presented the biblical gospel juxtaposed against the prosperity gospel. And, indeed, she still maintains many of these types of ties. For example, she is a featured speaker at the upcoming 2020 TGC Women’s Conference, and she recently announced that she will be pursuing her Master’s of Divinity degree at RTS (Reformed Theological Seminary).
Over the past several years, Jackie has publicly associated herself and/or yoked in ministry with a plethora of false teachers. I believe part of this stems from the fact that Jackie, like Jen Wikin, has has been added to LifeWay Womenโs stable of womenโs โBibleโ study authors which, through LifeWay ministry events, has affiliated her with a number of false and problematic teachers. In addition to my normal concerns about someone yoking with false teachers (i.e. the Bible says not to, and disobeying Godโs Word is a sin), I am concerned that LifeWay is using Jackie (for her reputation for being doctrinally sound) to lend credibility to the false teachers they promote, and Iโm also concerned that Jackie’s previously doctrinally sound reputation is now suffering by being associated with these false teachers.
In August 2019, largely due to the fact that Jackie posted this picture calling Bethel’s Jenn Johnson her “friend”…
…many of Jackie’s followers were awakened, for the first time, to the fact that she has been sinfully yoking in ministry with false teachers for some time. She was rebuked by many of her followers and was even disinvited from speaking at Answers in Genesis‘ 2020 women’s conference (at which she had previously been invited to speak) when this news came to their attention. Unfortunately, instead of heeding these biblical warnings and rebukes, Jackie dug her heels in and defended both her actions and the false teachers in this Instagram post…
…disdainfully characterizing those who were biblically right to call her to account as judgmental, arrogant, slanderous, loveless, critical, etc.
You might notice that while Jackie does cite a few Scriptures in these posts, she provides none which support her yoking with false teachers (because there aren’t any). She defends her actions and perspective only with her personal opinions and experiences (note how many times she says “I think,” “to me,” etc.). “…How are we deciding where the lines are drawn?” Jackie asks. The answer should be clear to any Christian and was certainly clear to those rebuking her: the Bible. God decides where the lines are drawn between doctrinally sound and false teacher, not Jackie or anyone else, and He makes that very clear in His written Word.
Jackie repeatedly says that she believes people like Jenn Johnson are just misguided and in need of correction, which would require us to ask, “Jackie, did you correct Jenn and the others you’ve been associating with who hold to unbiblical doctrine? If they did not repent and correct their doctrine (as appears to be the case) do you now consider them false teachers? And if you now consider them false teachers, why are you still partnering with them in ministry?”.
My friend Constance over at the Truth+Fire blog wrote a thoughtful, compassionate, and Scripture-filled article responding to this incident entitled Bye…Jackie?, which I would encourage you to read, as well as Elizabeth Prata’s excellent article (in the “Additional Resources” section below).
In addition to multiple partnerships with false teachers, Jackie, unfortunately, also preaches to men. Just a few of the copious examples:
In addition to the concerns about Jackie yoking with false teachers and preaching to men (either of which, as I stated in the preface to this article are sufficient biblical reason to avoid a particular teacher),ย Jackie’s remarks and associations (particularly on Twitter) indicate that she is increasingly identifying with the social justice/critical race theory/intersectionality movement. A couple of brief examples:
In the video So…About Racism on the With the Perrys YouTube channel, Jackie and her husband discuss Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility, white power, and de-funding the police, among other things. (In case it later gets scrubbed from YouTube, as often happens, you can find excerpts of the original video here and here.)
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 womenโs 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 0โ18”).
Jenโs older books and Bible study materials have a reputation for being generally doctrinally sound. Iโve published a review of Jenโs book, Women of the Word, and here is one readerโs take on her book 1 Peter: A Living Hope in Christ:
โโฆin the foreword Jen wrote, โa 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 โteacher who helps womenโฆโ 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 Itโs 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.
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?
(February 2026 UPDATE- I’ve removed a small section of this article {unrelated to the paragraph above or below} that previously appeared here. Please scroll down to the “Additional Resources” section for an explanation, and for additional extra information.)
Finally, in the same way that the influence Steven Furtick has on Lysa TerKeurst as her pastor is worrisome, Iโve seen some things over the years with Jenโs 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 Voskamp, Beth 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 Osteenโs 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.
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.
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, โI have never said the Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ (see image 2 below)
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- Iโm the author of the article, and Iโm happy to correct any factual or biblical mistakes. For others reading this whoโd like to follow along, Jen is saying my article on her contains โbasic factual errors in it … To say nothing of something that misrepresents a fellow believerโs 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:
โComment re: the NLT is inaccurate. I have said that in ref to earlier versions (pre-2004), but havenโt 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, โJenโs 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 readerโs quote begins:
โโฆin the foreword Jen wrote, โa 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 youโre correct, youโve removed the part about the NLT. The quote now says, โa 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 โthe NLT [New Living Translation]โ because itโs considered a translation, not a paraphrase. Is that correct? If not, please feel free to explain. Iโm glad to add a note to the article saying that youโve removed the phrase โthe 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, Iโll 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 โparaphraseโ) 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 โfactual errorโ. The readerโs quote was accurate.
However, the primary concern here is not that you mistakenly called the NLT a โparaphraseโ instead of a translation (if thatโs 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 โparaphrasesโ out there, written by Eugene Peterson, who, along with mangling the text of Scripture, wrote a cover endorsement for the heresy-laden book, โThe 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: โI am not described as a preacher on the GCD website.โ
Here, youโre misquoting me and either misunderstanding or misrepresenting what the article actually says (so youโre the one guilty of a โbasic 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…the Gospel Centered Discipleship โPreaching Cohortโ in which Jen is a โCoachโ. She (along with the other coaches) is described as a โseasoned Bible preacher and teacher,โ and will be coaching pastors โon 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 โpreacherโ. (Additionally, albeit tangentially: just from a logical perspective, why would GCD engage someone who isnโt a pastor and isnโt qualified to be a pastor to instruct pastors about being better pastors? Thatโs like a hospital hiring someone who isnโt a doctor and isnโt qualified to be a doctor to instruct doctors about being better doctors.)
Finally, you said, โI have never said the Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ
In this instance, youโre correct. Hereโs what I said in the article: โAnd remember when J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, got himself into all kinds of hot water for saying in a sermon, โThe Bible whispers about sexual sin.โ? He was quoting Jen Wilkinโฆโ
My statement was based on a misunderstanding of JDโs quote in the video of his sermon. He was quoting you when he said, โWe 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 โthe 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. Iโll be glad to remove that small section entirely. Iโll 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. Iโm very sorry for my mistake there.
โIโve also been clear about my complementarianism on more podcasts than I can count.โ
Yes, youโve said youโre a complementarian, but as I accurately explained in the article, youโre not using the original definition of โcomplementarianโ. Youโre 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. Thatโs what used to be called โsoft complementarianismโ or โnarrow complementarianismโ and it is functional egalitarianism. Iโm not the one in โfactual errorโ here.
Calling yourself a โcomplementarianโ and using that twisted definition is -whether you intend it to be or not, and Iโm assuming โnotโ- deceptive and misleading. Itโs similar (Iโm using this strictly as an analogy, not accusing you of heresy) to Mormons saying, โWe believe in Jesus,โ when the Mormon version of Jesus is very different from what Scripture says about Jesus.
Furthermore, as a Southern Baptist, Iโm sure youโve heard (as have I), our leadership say regarding women preaching to men, โThe 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 โcomplementarianismโ you espouse, namely, that โa woman ought to be able to doโฆor authorized to do everything a non-ordained man can do.โ
โThereโs an assumption of motive in several places, a tendency to sensationalizeโฆโ
This is your personal, subjective opinion, not a โfactual errorโ.ย
Youโll need to specifically quote at least one of these โseveral placesโ. And I would remind you that what you characterize as โassumption of motiveโ the Bible would likely characterize as, โout of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaksโ (Luke 6:45) and/or โYou will know them by their fruitโ (Matthew 7:16,20). But until you cite a specific โassumption of motive/tendency to sensationalizeโ we canโt know for sure, I canโt apologize if something is, in fact, an unbiblical โassumption of motive,โ or โsensationalism,โ and this is an unsubstantiated accusation.ย
โan extremely broad use of the term โpreachโ
No broader than the Bibleโs definition. The actual prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12, as Iโm sure you know, is against women โteachingโ men. Preaching is just one form of teaching.ย
โI donโt 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 โcomplementarianโ 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.
โRather than engage with those differing definitions,โ
I did โengage with those differing definitionsโ. I compared your so-called โcomplementarianโ definition of preaching to men – i.e. โitโs OK for women to preach to menโ – to Scripture. Scripture forbids this. Engagement over.
โshe simply characterizes me as โpreaching to menโโย
I didn’t “characterize” you as preaching to men, I flat out stated a fact: You preach to men. Thereโs plenty of evidence of it in the article. If youโre 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, โIโm not really preaching to men, Iโm really a complementarian.โ? If itโs 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.
โand a โfunctional egalitarianโโย
You are. When you function like an egalitarian by preaching to men, youโre a functional egalitarian.
โin an effort to discredit my ministry to women.โ
Your โministry to womenโ should be discredited because youโre 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 donโt like (like 1 Timothy 2:12), theyโre free to ignore it and disobey it. That teaching is false doctrine and a defiance of Scripture, and should, therefore, be discredited (and thatโs only one of the points in the article – Iโve cited many other reasons why your ministry should be discredited).
โThis is, at best, a shallow engagement with my position.โ
No it isnโt. 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 โshallow engagementโ.
โPreaching 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.
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 โchurchโ is not the building we meet in, itโs 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 โthe role of women at The Village Church.โ My article doesnโt deal with you preaching at TVC, but at other gatherings of the church outside TVC, so TVCโs policy for TVC is irrelevant to those events.
โThe 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 didnโt see that statement or any statement similar to that in the document, but I may have missed it. What page is that on?
โThat being said, my ministry is primarily to women, so mixed gatherings are pretty rare.โ
1. โRareโ does not equal โnot sinfulโ. You still need to repent of preaching to men and stop doing it.
2. It doesnโt look โrareโ considering all of the instances Iโve cited in the article (and including any instances I may have missed and havenโt included).
3. It isnโt โrare,โ as though you used to preach to men and no longer do. This is something youโre continuing to do and currently doing. The GCD Cohort in which youโll 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 youโve brought up here – is correct and is not โbasic factual errorsโ or a โmisrepresentationโ of your โcharacter and actionsโ.
And by implying that the article, overall, consists of โbasic factual errorsโ and โmisrepresents [your] character and actions,โ you have actually misrepresented my character and actions.
But all of that aside, whatโs 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 Iโve 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.
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.
Kelly Minter Not Recommended
The โaboutโ page of Kelly Minter’s web site used to describe false teacher, Beth Moore, as โone of [Kelly’s] favorite bible [sic] study teachers.โ Kelly also said, โBethโs teachings were much of what God used in my earlier life to teach and transform meโฆโ. (This information has been removed from Kelly’s website since the original publication of my article on her in 2016.)
The “particularly unkind week on Twitter” Kelly is referring to is doctrinally sound Christians biblically rebuking Beth Moore for coyly announcing that she would be preaching the Sunday morning sermon at her home church on Mother’s Day 2019. Where Beth Moore…
preaches to men in violation of Scripture
consistently allegorizes, mishandles, and takes Scripture out of context
partners with demonstrably false teachers and heretics
is on a trajectory toward affirming homosexuality
not only refuses biblical correction in all these areas but publicly taunts, insults, and name-calls those who rebuke her…
…Kelly thinks Beth has taught her “the whole counsel of God,” “brings glory to Jesus,” and is worthy of being her “spiritual mother.” If Kelly thinks these things, she is at the very least so undiscerning, or so unknowledgeable of the many Scriptures that condemn these things, or she knows that Scripture condemns these things but disregards Scripture in favor of her love for Beth, that she should not be teaching anyone, but should be sitting in a good local church under the teaching of a solid pastor so she can learn Scripture and sound doctrine.
If Kelly has such a fundamental misunderstanding of biblical obedience that she thinks Beth Moore – who defies Scripture in a myriad of ways – has taught her (“and countless others”) to obey Jesus, do you think she is qualified to teach the Bible to you or the women of your church, either in person or through the use of her materials?
Since Beth Moore preaches to men, it is not surprising that we would find Kelly has preached to menas well. While it is commendable that Kelly doesn’t seem to preach to men often, and the FAQ page for her “Cultivate” conferences specifically says that these conferences are for women, it is troubling that she has preached in a Sunday worship service as recently as 2019 and that the woman she considers her mentor has no qualms about preaching to men.
Kelly seems to have unbiblical ideas about how people should study the Bible. In this video she recommends that people who want to understand the Bible need to get a study (in addition to her own, she recommends Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer) and โif you feel comfortableโ get involved in a church to study โin communityโ. The biblical model for being taught Scripture is to join a church โ this is not optional โ and be taught the Word by the pastor, elders, and teachers. Doctrinally sound studies can sometimes be helpful, but they are supplementary to church instruction, not the primary source of instruction.
Kelly maintains friendly relationships and/or ministry partnerships with a plethora of false and problematic teachers. Here, Kelly recommends not only Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer, but also Jen Hatmaker, Jennie Allen, Jennifer Rothschild,Lisa Harper, and Margaret Feinberg. Kelly has guest blogged for Priscilla Shirer, and is an admirer of Christine Caine. Kelly has been featured on Angie Smith’s blog, is a fan of Catholic mystic, Henri Nouwen, and was included in The Faithful, a book of collected Bible studies by Kelly, Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, Jennifer Rothschild, and Lisa Harper. Kelly will be partnering with Lysa TerKeurst at a conference in October 2019, with Christine Caine at a LifeWay women’s leadership forum in November 2019, and with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, Jackie Hill Perry, and Jennifer Rothschild at LifeWay Women Live in 2020 (Kelly also appeared at the 2019 LifeWay Women Live with Christine Caine, Lysa TerKeurst, Lisa Harper.) Kelly has partnered with these and other false/problematic teachers at various other events, but I don’t wish to belabor the point. Kelly has little discernment and is disobeying Scripture’s admonition not to partner with false teachers.
When a women’s Bible study teacher is willing to preach to men and shows such a dearth of discernment, she is not someone you or the women of your church should follow or receive teaching from.
Last week, the news broke that Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, (a popular mutilationย paraphrase of the Bible) has, for quite some time, held the position that there’s nothing wrong with homosexuality, that he was on staff at a church that considered hiring a homosexual minister of music, and that he would perform a homosexual wedding if asked. (It was quite the kerfuffle. Play by play at the end of this article if you’re interested.)
LifeWay quickly – and rightlyย – released a statement saying that if they could verify that these are, in fact, Peterson’s beliefs, they would pull “The Message” and all of his other materials from their stores.
The next day, Peterson publicly retracted his statement about being willing to perform a same sex wedding – saying he affirms the biblical view of marriage – and LifeWay said they’d keep his materials on the shelf.
I commend LifeWay for pulling authors who support homosexuality. That’s a good and right thing and I don’t want to minimize it. This is absolutely something they shouldย do, and I’m glad this is their policy.
However, what about the fact that The Message is such a poor and misleading paraphrase that, as many have said, it should never have been on the shelves at LifeWay in the first place?
What about the fact that Eugene Peterson wrote a front cover endorsement for The Shack– a book that teaches the heresies of universalism, patripassianism, and blasphemies regarding the Trinity? Why was that sin not grievous enough, but his endorsement of homosexuality was?
When LifeWay only makes a splash in the media about removing books whose authors endorse homosexuality, they’re sending two very important messages:
1. Things like false doctrine, female authors/celebrities who defy Scripture by preaching to men, and teachers and authors who disobey God’s word by partnering with false teachers, don’t matter. All that matters is if you’re on the right side of homosexuality.
2. It sends the message to homosexuals and the rest of the world – not to mention members of our own SBC churches – that Southern Baptists think homosexuality is the worst sin out there and the only one we really care about people repenting from.
How hypocritical that LifeWay will turn a blind eye toย Beth Moore’s sins of teaching false doctrine, preaching to men, and partnering with false teachers, and make her a wealthy celebrity, but will take a stand against other authors (whose materials don’t sell as well as Moore’s) for the sin of endorsing homosexuality.
Sin is sin in God’s eyes, but not in LifeWay’s, apparently.
Play by Play of the Peterson Predicament
Wednesday, July 12: โฆ News breaks that Eugene Peterson has “changed his mind” regarding the biblical view of marriage.
โฆ LifeWay announces that if Peterson’s remarks can be confirmed, they will cease selling all of his materials includingย The Message.
Thursday, July 13:
โฆ Peterson retracts his original comments about same sex marriage and says he “affirms a biblical view of marriage.”
โฆ LifeWay announces that, due to the retraction, they will continue to carry Peterson’s materials.
โฆ The reporter (Jonathan Merritt) who originally broke the Peterson storyย offers his takeย and behind the scenes insights on the retraction.
โฆ In an additional article, Merritt offers evidence that Peterson made statements affirming homosexuality as recently as 2014.