Mailbag

The Mailbag: Potpourri (Do they know they’re heretics? … Removing Allie … Confirmation invitation?)

Welcome to another โ€œpotpourriโ€ edition of The Mailbag, where I give short(er) answers to several questions rather than a long answer to one question.

I like to take the opportunity in these potpourri editions to let new readers know about my comments/e-mail/messages policy. Iโ€™m not able to respond individually to most e-mails and messages, so here are some helpful hints for getting your questions answered more quickly. Remember, the search bar (at the very bottom of each page) can be a helpful tool!

Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.


I am wondering, do people who fit the definition of heretic know they are wrong? Are they consciously rejecting the gospel or genuinely confused / misinterpreting it?

Great question! In my experience, false teachers fall into one of two categories:

1. Con artists who know the whole false teaching universe is a sham, but they’ve observed how much money can be made off the grift and want a piece of the pie, so they feign believing and teaching false doctrine in order to scam people out of their money. They’re no different from people who run pyramid schemes or fake land deals to cheat people. Think Elmer Gantry. These folks are a tiny – I mean, microscopic – segment of those we would call false teachers.

2. Nearly all heretics and false teachers would fall into the second category- the deceived deceivers.

But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Timothy 3:13

with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may give them repentance leading to the full knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:25-26

They are deceived into believing that what they’re teaching is the truth and that discerning Christians who rebuke them are “legalistic” or “Pharisees” or “putting God in a box” or some such nonsense.

The people you describe as “genuinely confused / misinterpreting it,” are not in the category of “false teacher”. They are in the category of “genuine Christian in need of discipleship,” much like Apollos. He was teaching what, as far as he knew, was the truth of the gospel. When Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and corrected him, he embraced that correction, began teaching the gospel correctly, and was sent out with joy by the church to continue teaching.


Why did you remove Allie Beth Stuckey from your Recommended Bible Teachers, Authors, etc. list?

Please believe me when I say I didn’t want to, and I waited longer to remove her, and extended more grace and benefit of the doubt to her than anyone else I’ve ever removed (which, praise God, has only been a handful of people). But in fairness to others I’ve removed, to avoid being hypocritical, and out of concern for my followers, I had no choice.

I have been listening to Allie’s podcast, Relatable, for about five years now. I have always thought she did a wonderful job of discussing political issues from a biblical worldview, and explaining these issues in a way that puts them on the bottom shelf for people like me who don’t keep up or don’t get it. That was why I initially started listening.

As her show became increasingly theological in nature, a few things occasionally gave me pause, but nothing that couldn’t be quickly overlooked with love for someone who is generally doctrinally sound.

But then there were the interviews with professing Christians who are biblically problematic. I do want to stress that the vast majority of professing Christians Allie interviewed through the end of 2024 (the last time I listened to an episode) were solid and doctrinally sound. I also want to make clear that I think it’s perfectly acceptable for a Christian host of a Christian podcast to interview lost people (who don’t profess to be Christians) when the topic warrants that. And that is par for the course when your primary field is politics. Neither of these are the interviews I’m referring to.

The interviews I’m talking about have been interviews with professing Christians who have ranged from problematic to literal heretic, and who have shared their testimonies or offered commentary on theological issues. Allie has not had them on the show to challenge their unbiblical beliefs, teachings, or actions, but to present them as acceptable teachers and/or brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Robertsons- Allie has interviewed various members of the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty fame. The Robertsons’ church (where Phil and Al are elders), is part of the Church of Christ denomination, which teaches baptismal regeneration. Baptismal regeneration, in a nutshell, is the belief that you must be baptized in order to be saved – that salvation does not take place until you have been baptized. This is a false gospel.

And yet, Allie has platformed Phil, Al, Willie, and Jase Robertson on the show in episode 1145, Jase and Al Give an Update on Phil Robertsonโ€™s Tragic Diagnosesepisode 592, Sharing the Gospel with Trump, and episode 1009, Confidently Sharing the Gospel, all of which were largely about evangelism. You don’t invite people on your show who believe and teach a false gospel1 to get their insights about sharing the gospel.

In April of 2024, Allie interviewed Tara-Leigh Cobble, in The Bible Isnโ€™t About You | Guest: Tara-Leigh Cobble | Ep 993, and despite being provided with information about why Tara-Leigh is biblically problematic

…recommended her again in this January 2025 Instagram post:

Then there was Is ‘The Chosen’ Biblical? | Guest: Dallas Jenkins | Ep 726. The obvious answer to any doctrinally sound Christian who has watched or researched The Chosen is, “Absolutely not!”. But it seemed as though perhaps Allie was not very familiar with The Chosen, and the interview mostly consisted of softball questions, which had the (unintended, I’m sure) effect of giving Dallas Jenkins not only a pass on the blasphemy he’s responsible for, both on screen and off, but further opportunity to deceptively claim to a large audience that said blasphemies are actually biblical. (Commendably, however, Allie did make very clear that Mormonism is not Christianity, when that issue arose during the interview.)

I have also had readers ask me to address the fact that Candace Cameron Bure has been a guest on Relatable and was featured at Allie’s Share the Arrows conference for Christian women in 2024. Candace is someone who has flown under my radar because she’s not really a teacher, per se, she’s an actress, but she does share and promote a lot of false teachers on Instagram and her podcast (e.g. Gather25, she had Priscilla Shirer co-host the entire eighth season of her podcast, Jennie Allen, the entire sixth season, Bianca Olthoffseason 4, and Tara-Leigh Cobbleseason 1), and if she’s being platformed (by Allie or anyone else) as someone to listen to about Christian issues, this is extremely problematic.

But the interview that finally forced me to remove Allie from my recommends was in December of 2024 when she had Lisa Bevere on the show, not only introducing her as “a sister in Christ,” but promoting her new book.

Allie also appeared with Lisa on pro-life org Live Action’s podcast, The Lies Women Face | Exclusives with Lisa Bevere & Allie Beth Stuckey.

And, as far as I know, Allie is still scheduled to appear with Lisa again in June 2025 at Live Action’s Women’s Summit.

Lisa Bevere is a literal heretic. She and her husband John teach New Apostolic Reformation heresy, and are well known speakers and celebrities in the NAR world. This is not hard to find out. It takes only a few minutes and a search engine. You can read more about the Beveres in my article about them.

Allie and I have exchanged a handful of DMs in the past, so I reached out to her twice after the episode posted but didn’t receive a response (which is understandable since I’m sure she probably receives hundreds of messages a day). When she posted about the episode on Facebook, she received well over a hundred comments, all but a few of them reproving her for platforming Lisa.

I continued listening to Relatable, hoping that, even though it wouldn’t be easy, Allie would offer some sort of retraction, warning her listeners away from Lisa and her heretical teaching, but none was forthcoming.

Several weeks ago, I reached out to Allie again, including the link to my article about the Beveres and encouraging her to publicly retract her support of Lisa. This time, Allie graciously and kindly thanked me and said she would read the article. I have reached out to her twice since then to ask her thoughts, but haven’t heard back from her yet. I’m sure she’s just very busy and will get to it when she can.

To date, as far as I know, Allie has not publicly repented for and retracted her promotion of Lisa, and, as you can see above, the episode with Lisa has not been removed from her YouTube channel.

These are the reasons I’ve removed Allie from my list of recommended teachers and authors.2

UPDATE (May 2025): Since the publication of this article just two months ago, I’ve become aware of two additional serious instances of Allie’s lack of discernment:

1. Allie is scheduled to be a featured speaker at Gabe and Rebekah Lyons‘ Thinq Summit conference (formerly Q Conference/Q-ideas). The Lyonses are extremely progressive (liberal) in their theology. They’re egalitarian, affirming of homosexuality and other sexual immorality, and yoke almost exclusively with false teachers. Read more here.

2. Allie recently platformed (see “Additional Resources” below) Michael Knowles, a staunch Catholic, on her show, seemed to treat him as a brother in Christ, and recommended his show and books to her audience. More info on Catholicism here. More details on why platforming Michael was problematic here (full video here), which Allie did not take kindly to.

Readers, I want you to clearly understand some things here, so please read the following information slowly, carefully, and as many times as you have to in order to grasp what I am and am not saying so that you won’t misrepresent me, or Allie, or jump to wrong conclusions.

I am not saying Allie, herself, is a false teacher. That’s not what removing her from my list of recommended teachers means. It simply means I can’t, in good conscience, and in fairness to others, proactively point people to her. For the foreseeable future, I have no reason or any plans to add her to my list of false teachers.

I am not questioning Allie’s salvation. I really feel like that should be obvious. The only reason I’m even saying this is because I know somebody who’s not reading carefully is going to jump to that wrong conclusion.

I am questioning Allie’s discernment, wisdom, and/or research. To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). Allie has a large audience. Many of her followers are lost, new Christians, or undiscerning, which makes them especially vulnerable to false teachers. Before Allie platforms someone on her show as a brother or sister in Christ, a trustworthy Christian resource, or someone with expertise in an area of theology or the Christian life, she has a personal responsibility as a Christian to vet that person and make sure s/he is doctrinally sound so she won’t be thrusting vulnerable people into the arms of a wolf, or even someone who’s just theologically mistaken. Allie has failed to do this several times, which is the crux of the reason I’m pausing recommending her. If you choose to continue following Allie, I would strongly recommend that you vet anyone she interviews, platforms at her own events, or appears with at other events before you decide to follow or receive teaching from that person.

There’s nothing personal or emotional about this decision. I still love Allie to death and consider her a sister in Christ. I’m not mad or upset with her, and I hope that feeling is mutual. Although I’m somewhat disappointed that she hasn’t issued any sort of public retraction or statement of repentance – because that would be the biblical thing to do, and she has thus far failed to do it – removing her from the list of recommended teachers was a policy and ministry decision I was forced to make, not a personal one.

Everybody errs. I do. You do. This time, Allie did. We need to remember the grace Christ has extended to us while still exhibiting repentance when we sin, and expecting brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same. And we certainly need to remember the Golden Rule – to treat others the way we would want to be treated.

This doesn’t have to be permanent, and I’m hoping it’s not. I would love to add Allie back to my list of Recommended Teachers, Authors, etc., if and when that becomes an option.

Additional Resource:

Unequally Yoked: When Christians Platform False Teachers at A Word Fitly Spoken


How should we respond to an invitation to attend our niece’s confirmation in the Catholic Church?

Before we get into the mechanics of how to respond, everybody take a moment and think this through. How would you respond if you were invited to a ceremony or celebration for a loved one who was becoming a Mormon? A Hindu? A member of a cult? If you’re recoiling right now, that’s the same inward response you should have if you’re invited to attend a loved one’s initiation into Catholicism.

Catholicism isn’t Christianity. It is just as anti-Christian and anti-biblical as any of those other religions.

I know it’s really difficult when someone you love has embraced an unbiblical theology and invites you to celebrate with her. You love her, you want to participate in this with her just like you participate with her in birthdays, Christmas, and other special events, and you don’t want to be the big, bad Christian meanie. But out of loyalty to Christ, you can’t celebrate blasphemy and false doctrine, and out of love for your loved one, you can’t celebrate something that’s going to send her to an eternity in Hell.

So, what do you do? I don’t know how invitations to confirmations work. If it’s like a formal wedding invitation that includes an R.s.v.p. card (or some sort of response website, like The Knot), simply mark “will not attend” and send it back.

Whether or not you explain why you won’t be attending sort of depends on how close you are to this niece and her family, whether or not they pretty much already know why you’re not attending, and whether or not you want to.

If you’re not close with the niece and her family, you were just one of the 500 other people they invited, the aforementioned R.s.v.p. (or if it’s more casual, a verbal or text, “I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to make it.”) will suffice. If you want to write a letter or email briefly explaining why you can’t biblically attend, you can do that, just be sure to keep it kind and loving rather than attacking or lecturing.

If you are close with the niece and her family and you’ve already had some discussions about why Catholicism isn’t biblical, you can simply let them know you won’t be able to make it. They probably already know why, but if they ask, you can briefly remind them of your past conversations and that your conscience won’t allow you to attend.

If you’re close with the niece and her family, and you haven’t ever had any discussions about why Catholicism is unbiblical, you can try simply responding that you won’t be able to make it, but if you’re otherwise really involved in her life, they’re going to want to know why you’d miss such an important event. Do not make up an excuse. That’s lying. Briefly explain to them why your love and loyalty to Christ and your love for your niece won’t let you attend. If you think they’re open to it and it would help, you could even send them this resource.

Additional Resources:

Roman Catholicism: Mass Confusion at A Word Fitly Spoken

Truth and Love โ€“ with Mike Gendron at A Word Fitly Spoken


1Because I know I’m going to get the question, “Are you saying that the Robertsons aren’t Christians because they believe in baptismal regeneration?” here’s my answer: That’s something that would have to be determined on a case by case basis. They and their church also preach, teach, and believe the biblical gospel. I’ve heard them present it. If anyone genuinely repents and believes the biblical gospel, that person is saved at that moment. If he subsequently believes he has to be immediately baptized or he’s not going to Heaven when he dies, that’s a false belief, but it doesn’t negate that person’s genuine belief in the true gospel. Conversely, if he believes it’s his baptism that saves, regenerates, or justifies him, rather than repenting and believing the gospel, that person is not saved. You can see how you would really need to talk to an individual who holds to baptismal regeneration about exactly what he personally believes in order to help him understand whether or not he’s genuinely saved. Be all of that as it may, it is still a false gospel to teach that a person is not saved unless he is baptized. That is my point about the Robertsons being called upon as experts on evangelism on Allie’s show.

2I have also had followers alert me to some of the political rally-type events Allie has spoken at, and questioned whether or not she was unbiblically instructing men in the Scriptures or sharing the stage with other false teachers at these events. To be perfectly transparent, I haven’t looked into this, so I don’t know. If that’s a concern for you, I would encourage you to do the research for yourself.


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 of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Discernment, False Teachers

John and Lisa Bevere

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.

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 recommend against any teacher or ministry who violates one or more of these biblical tenets.

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.


John and Lisa Bevere
Not Recommended

Primary issues with the Beveres: Word of Faith (prosperity gospel) and New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) heresy, they yoke with numerous false teachers, Lisa preaches to men

New Apostolic Reformation

New Apostolic Reformation articles

The Mailbag: What is the New Apostolic Reformation?

The Mailbag: Should Christians listen to โ€œReckless Loveโ€? (Contains videos and discussion of blasphemous NAR music, practices, and beliefs)

Theological Issues

NAR false teaching: John and Lisa’s false teaching can be observed in the many videos linked under “Yoking in Ministry with Other False Teachers”. They teach a lot about so-called prophecy and extra-biblical revelation.

Preaching to men: Lisa can be observed preaching to men in most of the videos linked under “Yoking in Ministry with Other False Teachers”. Her speaking engagement calendar boasts a number of dates when she is preaching the Sunday services at various churches.

Lisa also advocates for women preaching/pastoring in her book Without Rival.

In her article, Women: The Great Commission is Your Permission, you can watch Lisa mercilessly twist Acts 4 and the Great Commission (from The Message, no less) in an attempt to make Scripture endorse women preaching. She even goes so far as to compare Christians who rightly understand that Scripture prohibits women from preaching to the council of Pharisees and Sadducees who imprisoned and “threatened” the apostles (and in the very next chapter, beat them) for preaching the gospel:

For more than two millennia religious leaders have limited and at times prohibited thousands of the churchโ€™s daughters from preaching and teaching in the sacred spaces under its governance. Read Acts 4:18 again:
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
As I pondered this verse, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, โ€œFar too many of the daughters I called and gifted by my Spirit for ministry have been held back and denied their call by the church.โ€
You might have heard religious leaders say, โ€œWomen can teach other women but not men.โ€ Or, โ€œWomen can share, but there is to be no preaching.โ€ And: โ€œWomen can lead, as long as it is outside the church.โ€ These veiled threats appear to be more reasonable, but the result is the same: the gospel is contained…Yet the question before us is the same one raised by Peter and John. Is it right in the sight of God to listen to men rather than to obey God?

“Missions”: John and Lisa have a missions organization called Messenger International, through which they spread their heresy all over the world. Notice the word “resources” in the image below. It doesn’t mean “trustworthy translations of the Bible”. It means their own books.:

The Passion “Translation” (TPT):

The Passion “Translation” is not a translation at all, but more like an NAR fanfic of the Bible, or the NAR’s dangerous and twisted re-write of the Bible. The Beveres not only frequently quote and teach from TPT (and The Message – also not a translation of the Bible, but an error-laden paraphrase from another false teacher), they wrote a hearty endorsement on the TPT website (right alongside some of the worst of the worst NAR heretics alive today: Bill Johnson, Bobbie Houston, Lou Engle, James Goll, Patricia King, Heidi Baker, Banning Liebscher, Che Ahn, Chuck Pierce, Lana Vawser, and Bianca Olthoff.)

John also wrote a devotion for the TPT blog, and Lisa wrote two. And John and Lisa have both gushed over TPT on social media.

Yoking in Ministry with Other False Teachers

John and Lisa associate and partner in ministry almost exclusively with some of the worst of the worst false teachers. Here are just a handful of hundreds of examples:

Benny Hinn (NAR, faith healer):

Early in his ministry, John served in various pastoral capacities under his pastor, Benny Hinn. Because this was in the 1980’s-90’s (pre-Internet), and because John has attempted to distance himself from this fact, there appears not to be any hard online proof (links, pictures, screenshots, etc.) readily available, but it is common knowledge and can be researched offline.

Credit: A Cry for Justice

Joyce Meyer

John served on Joyce Meyer Ministry’s board of directors.

Lisa on Joyce’s podcast, The Big Questions For Women with Lisa Bevere | Joyce Meyer’s Talk It Out Podcast | Episode 117

Lisa on Joyce’s program, Defying a Culture of Rejection – Pt 1 | Enjoying Everyday Life | Joyce Meyer

Lisa spoke at Joyce’s 2023 women’s conference: LIVE with Lisa Bevere | Love Life Women’s Conference Session #5 (“Joyce has been a mother to so many of us…”)

Hillsong (and Brian & Bobbie Houston)

Lisa has her own page at the Hillsong website.

Lisa has preached the Sunday sermon at Hillsong: Hillsong Church – How Gritty Are You? and here.

John and Lisa spoke at the Excel Conference with Brian Houston.

“Love and respect our friends” John and Lisa Bevere, Bobbie Houston says in this Instagram post promoting John’s new book.

Lisa wrote an endorsement for Bobbie’s book, The Sisterhood.

Lisa has spoken at Colour Conference multiple times: Rise and Build: Marriage Shouldn’t Shrink Your Life [FULL SERMON] โ€” Lisa Bevere | Colour Conference

John has preached at Hillsong multiple times: “What a great night at @hillsong Church. I’m always amazed at the health of this church. @brianchouston and @bobbiehouston what an amazing job you’ve done in leading this global church. Lisa and I are honored to be your friends.”

Christine Caine

Lisa interviewed by Christine (and Laurie Crouch): Lisa Bevere: THIS Is What God Created Women For! | Fight for Female | Women of Faith on TBN

Lisa spoke at Christine’s Propel Women’s Conference.

Christine calls Lisa her “beloved friend“.

Kris Vallotton

Lisa wrote the foreword for Kris’ book Destined to Win

Kris calls Lisa a “great prophet/teacher” in this Instagram post.

John spoke at the Modern Prophetic Symposium with Kris and other NAR heretics, including Shawn Bolz, Cindy Jacobs, and Lance Wallnau.

Bethel

John and Lisa each have their own pages on Bethel’s website.

Lisa spoke at the Jesus Culture Encounter Conference: Lisa Bevere | Jesus Culture Encounter Conference 2018

Lisa has been a featured speaker several times at Bethel’s Wonder Conference.

Lisa has spoken at Bethel’s Prophetic Conference (twice): The Rock | Lisa Bevere | Prophetic Conference 2019

The Killing Kryptonite Tour featured John and Bethel Music: ANNOUNCING KILLING KRYPTONITE TOUR WITH JOHN BEVERE

The Awe of God Tour featured John and Bethel worship leader Kim Walker-Smith: John Bevere โ€” The Awe of God Tour with Kim Walker-Smith

John spoke at Bethel’s Open Heavens conference: John Bevere | Open Heavens 2017 | Bethel Church

Joel & Victoria Osteen (Lakewood)

John and Lisa spoke at the Spark Marriage Conference: Spark Marriage Conference 2021 | Lakewood Church

Lisa spoke at the Love Your Life Conference: Lakewood Church Love Your Life (2017)

Joel gushed over “my friend, John Bevere,” and promoted his new book.

Lisa was interviewed by Joel and Victoria on Joel’s radio show.

Assorted Other False Teachers and Heretics:

John and Lisa appeared on Paula White’s podcast.

Lisa preached chapel at Oral Roberts University: ORU Chapel 2024: “The Fight for Female” by Lisa Bevere | Sept. 11th, 2024

Lisa preaching at Robert Morris’ Gateway “Church”: Sheer Joy | Lisa Bevere | First Conference | Gateway Church

John and Lisa, both individually and together have appeared numerous times (too many videos for individual links) on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural.

Lisa preached the Sunday sermon at T.D. Jakes’ The Potter’s House (North Dallas campus “pastored” by Sheryl Brady)

Joni Lamb calls Lisa a “long time friend” in this Instagram post.

John honored Morris Cerullo.

Lisa spoke at the Divine Conference with Jentezen Franklin.

Mike Bickle promoted John’s The Awe of God Tour.

John appeared on Shawn Bolz’s podcast.

A who’s who of false teachers and heretics have written endorsements for Lisa’s books. Just one example: Without Rival carries written endorsements from: “Pastor” Holly Wagner, Chris Hodges, Sheila Walsh, “Pastor” Caroline Barnett, “Pastor” Charlotte Gambill, “Pastors” Steven and Holly Furtick, “Pastor” Victoria Osteen, Kris Vallotton, James Robison, Jenn Johnson, Sarah Bessey, Lisa Harper, “Pastors” Brian and Bobbie Houston, Jentezen Franklin, Christine Caine, and Mark Batterson.

Additional Resources:

Uncovering the Beveres’ False Teachings at Famine in the Land (YouTube) – This is a really good, general overview of the Beveres’ false teaching.

Exposing John and Lisa Bevere in Deliverance Ministry, Repentance, and Sanctification with Dave Jenkins and Michelle Lesley

Beware of the Unbiblical Beveres with Doreen Virtue and Dave Jenkins

Confronting John and Lisa Bevere at The Messed Up Church

John and Lisa Bevere at Fighting for the Faith (podcast archives)

John and Lisa Bevere at Fighting For the Faith (YouTube)

John Bevere at NAR Connections

John and Lisa Bevere at Famine in the Land (YouTube)

Killing Kryptonite: The Bait of John Bevere at Famine in the Land (blog)

Unequally Yoked: When Christians Platform False Teachers at A Word Fitly Spoken

Podcast Appearances

Podcast Guest Appearance – Contending for the Word

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure of chatting with my friend Dave Jenkins on his podcast Contending for the Word, in an episode titled Exposing the Dangers of Passion 2025.

If you’ve followed the Passion Conference over the years, you know it’s problematic. Listen in as Dave and I discuss Christine Caine, Jackie Hill-Perry, and other false teachers who are platformed, women taking the stage and preaching to the co-ed audience, the ostensibly doctrinally sound teachers, like John Piper, who join them, and more!

Be sure to check out Dave’s website, Servants of Grace, where you’ll find an abundance of great teaching, podcasts, and materials, as well as his social media links- and give Dave a follow!


Articles / resources mentioned or touched on in the episode:

Jackie Hill Perry

A Review of Jackie Hill-Perryโ€™s โ€œJude: Contending for the Faith in Todayโ€™s Cultureโ€

Christine Caine

John Piper

Why Your Church Should Stop Playing Bethel, Hillsong, Elevation, and Jesusย Culture

Popular False Teachers & Unbiblical Trends


Got a podcast of your own or have a podcasting friend who needs a guest? Need a speaker for a womenโ€™s conference or church event? Click the โ€œSpeaking Engagementsโ€ tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page, drop me an e-mail, and letโ€™s chat!

Podcast Appearances

Podcast Guest Appearance – Contending for the Word

I once again had the pleasure of chatting with my friend Dave Jenkins on his podcast Contending for the Word, in an episode titled Exposing John and Lisa Bevere in Deliverance Ministry, Repentance, and Sanctification.

Listen in as Dave and I discuss the Beveres’ false doctrine and the way they twist Scripture on these issues, what the Bible really teaches, and more! Even if you don’t follow the Beveres, many other false teachers share the same beliefs, so you’ll want to give this a listen to educate yourself on the falsehoods flying around out there and equip yourself to help your friends and loved ones who believe them.

Be sure to check out Dave’s website, Servants of Grace, where you’ll find an abundance of great teaching, podcasts, and materials, as well as his social media links- and give Dave a follow!


Articles / resources mentioned or touched on in the episode:

John & Lisa Bevere

Popular False Teachers & Unbiblical Trends

Searching for a new church?

Speaking Engagements

A Word Fitly Spoken


Got a podcast of your own or have a podcasting friend who needs a guest? Need a speaker for a womenโ€™s conference or church event? Click the โ€œSpeaking Engagementsโ€ tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page, drop me an e-mail, and letโ€™s chat!

Discernment, False Teachers, Mailbag

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

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

mailbag

Volume 1  Volume 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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