https://bereanexaminer.com Investigative journalism exposing church leadership failures, abuse cover-ups, and doctrinal crises in evangelical Christianity. en-us Copyright 2026 The Berean Examiner editorial@bereanexaminer.com (The Berean Examiner) editorial@bereanexaminer.com (The Berean Examiner) Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 60 https://static.readdy.ai/image/83e2818296aea86f7301b9685fb8ef0e/4fe209846c7560019eac491994873729.png https://bereanexaminer.com 144 144 https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/blessed-hope-chapel-mass-exodus https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/blessed-hope-chapel-mass-exodus Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Sexual Misconduct Institutional Cover-Up Investigations Former members allege a cover-up involving Pastor Joe Schimmel and his daughter after misconduct claims, conflicting accounts, and the refusal of an independent investigation led to a mass exodus at Blessed Hope Chapel, Simi Valley, California. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/kris-vallotton-impossible-testimony https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/kris-vallotton-impossible-testimony Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Theological Deception Investigations He told thousands the Message Bible discipled him at age 19 — but it wasn't even written until he was 38. A deep look at Bethel's culture of prophetic embellishment and its devastating effect on new believers. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/robert-morris-ecclesiastical-abstention https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/robert-morris-ecclesiastical-abstention Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Child Protection Leadership Accountability Investigations A convicted child sex abuser weaponizes church doctrine to block civil accountability — months after pleading guilty to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. A theological and legal analysis of the March 2026 ecclesiastical abstention maneuver. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-robert-morris https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-robert-morris Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Child Protection Criminal Conviction Active case file tracking Robert Morris's October 2025 guilty plea to five counts of child sex abuse, his six-month jail sentence, and his attorneys' simultaneous attempt to invoke ecclesiastical abstention doctrine in Dallas County civil court to block discovery. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/nathan-peternel-restoration https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/nathan-peternel-restoration Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Accountability Investigations When the son of an Assemblies of God lead pastor is arrested on CSAM charges at the family home, does 1 Timothy 3's household standard apply? A look at Nathan Peternel, Life Church Noblesville, and what the denomination's silence says. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/good-fight-ministries-financial-questions https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/good-fight-ministries-financial-questions Mon, 03 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Financial Accountability Investigations A review of IRS filings reveals financial patterns at Good Fight Ministries that congregants and donors have been asking about — and that leadership has yet to address publicly. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-bethel-armstrong https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-bethel-armstrong Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Sexual Abuse Bethel Church pastor Ben Armstrong placed on administrative leave amid sexual abuse allegations involving a student at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-hopcc https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-hopcc Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Financial Fraud HOPCC and Rony Denis face federal indictment over a $22 million veteran fraud scheme exploiting GI Bill benefits, compounded by documented cult abuse tactics. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/house-of-prayer-fraud https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/house-of-prayer-fraud Tue, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Financial Fraud Investigations A ministry that preyed on veterans and their families, siphoning millions through a web of financial deception and spiritual manipulation. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/bethel-armstrong-abuse https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/bethel-armstrong-abuse Tue, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Sexual Abuse Investigations How Bethel Church's Ben Armstrong allegedly weaponized prophetic authority to groom and assault a student at BSSM. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/bethel-unsanctified-mercy https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/bethel-unsanctified-mercy Thu, 30 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Institutional Accountability Investigations Bethel Church's decade of silence on prophetic fraud and abuse — and how institutional mercy became institutional complicity. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/hillsong-collapse https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/hillsong-collapse Tue, 28 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Institutional Accountability Investigations The collapse of a global megachurch empire and the financial opacity that enabled years of unchecked leadership excess. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/steven-lawson-fall https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/steven-lawson-fall Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Crisis Investigations Steven Lawson's five-year deception and the reckoning it has forced on Reformed and Calvinist circles. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/royal-rangers-abuse https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/royal-rangers-abuse Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Child Safety Investigations Royal Rangers' decades of alleged abuse and the Assemblies of God's institutional cover-up. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mississippi-youth-pastor https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mississippi-youth-pastor Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Justice Investigations How lenient sentencing for a Mississippi youth pastor's sex crime fails victims and endangers communities. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/rock-church-arabella https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/rock-church-arabella Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Child Safety Investigations Rock Church San Diego's institutional silence in the Arabella case and the $31.5M settlement that followed. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/john-macarthur-legacy https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/john-macarthur-legacy Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Crisis Investigations How decades of unchecked authority and financial opacity at Grace Community Church enabled a pattern of institutional harm. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mercy-culture-landon-schott https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mercy-culture-landon-schott Mon, 20 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Charges Investigations Mercy Culture Church pastor Landon Schott arrested on child sexual abuse material charges in Fort Worth. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mercy-culture-dueling-reports https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/mercy-culture-dueling-reports Thu, 08 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Institutional Accountability Investigations How Mercy Culture Church chose institutional protection over victim justice when competing investigation reports emerged. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/michael-brown-misconduct https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/michael-brown-misconduct Fri, 02 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Crisis Investigations A prominent discernment voice faces scrutiny over the same institutional accountability gaps he has long applied to others. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/rodney-loy-lawsuit https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/rodney-loy-lawsuit Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Sexual Abuse Investigations Rodney Loy steps down from national Assemblies of God leadership amid a sexual abuse lawsuit alleging grooming. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/myles-delana-rutherford-cover-up https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/myles-delana-rutherford-cover-up Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Liability Investigations Georgia pastors Myles and DeLana Rutherford face criminal liability after an alleged cover-up of child sexual abuse sparked new mandatory reporter legislation. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/jarrod-geistdorfer-investigation https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/jarrod-geistdorfer-investigation Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Institutional Accountability Investigations Jarrod Geistdorfer, fired from the Church of the Nazarene for wrongdoing, starts a new church while an investigation continues. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/eric-caleb-crawford-sex-offender https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/eric-caleb-crawford-sex-offender Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Child Safety Investigations Heritage Baptist Church in Haslet, Texas employed registered sex offender Caleb Crawford at its school; pastor temporarily steps down. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/caleb-flynn-murder https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/caleb-flynn-murder Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Charges Investigations Caleb Flynn, former American Idol contestant and worship leader at Christian Life Center in Dayton, Ohio, charged with murdering his wife Ashley. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/moral-authority-collapse https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/moral-authority-collapse Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Crisis Investigations The MAGA faith movement's reckoning with sexual abuse and the collapse of moral authority among its most prominent figures. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/archbishop-stephen-wood https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/archbishop-stephen-wood Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Leadership Crisis Investigations Archbishop Stephen Wood faces allegations of sexual harassment and plagiarism, triggering a leadership crisis at the top of the Anglican Church in North America. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/william-robbins-csam https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/william-robbins-csam Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Charges Investigations Former Amarillo mayor and Baptist minister William Robbins charged with possession of child sexual abuse material. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/milton-martin-conviction https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/milton-martin-conviction Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Criminal Conviction Investigations Pentecostal pastor Milton Martin sentenced to seven years for child sexual abuse. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/david-walther-civil-suit https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/david-walther-civil-suit Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Civil Litigation Investigations Fourteen victims file civil suit against previously convicted Baptist minister David Walther for child sexual abuse material. https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/vineyard-anaheim https://bereanexaminer.com/investigations/vineyard-anaheim Tue, 02 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Spiritual Abuse Investigations How spiritual abuse allegations against Alan Scott fractured Vineyard Anaheim and triggered a broader reckoning within the Vineyard USA movement. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-la-archdiocese https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-la-archdiocese Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Financial Settlement The Archdiocese of Los Angeles reaches an $880 million settlement in a historic clergy sexual abuse case. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-old-apostolic https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-old-apostolic Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Child Safety Old Apostolic Lutheran Church faces scrutiny over child sexual abuse by Clint Massie in an insular community, as documented by ProPublica. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-oak-cliff https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-oak-cliff Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Leadership Crisis Tony Evans resigns from Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship amid a moral failure disclosure, raising questions about evangelical accountability and restoration. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-fbc-bentonville https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-fbc-bentonville Mon, 07 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Child Safety First Baptist Church Bentonville faces allegations of child sexual abuse by youth volunteer Keenan Hord and an institutional cover-up. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-greater-grace https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-greater-grace Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Sexual Abuse Greater Grace World Outreach faces an abuse investigation involving youth pastor John Love and allegations of institutional cover-up in Baltimore. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-dwelling-place https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-dwelling-place Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Child Safety The Dwelling Place Anaheim faces repeated child sexual abuse allegations against Ryan Doezie and civil litigation. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-eastland-aog https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-eastland-aog Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Criminal Charges Eastland Assembly of God pastor Joseph Campbell indicted on rape and child abuse charges in Tulsa. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-faith-life https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-faith-life Sat, 28 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Criminal Charges Faith Life Church's Keesee family faces criminal charges including child sexual abuse against Gary Keesee Jr., implicating the Word of Faith ministry. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-rock-church https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-rock-church Sat, 21 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Child Safety Rock Church San Diego reaches a $31.5M settlement in the Arabella child death case, exposing mandatory reporting failures. https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-lawson https://bereanexaminer.com/shepherds-watch/case-lawson Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Shepherd's Watch Leadership Crisis Reformed icon Steven Lawson's five-year affair and the theological reckoning it has forced on Calvinist accountability structures. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/doctrine-and-destruction https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/doctrine-and-destruction Tue, 14 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Doctrine How false teaching and doctrinal frameworks enable abuse in the Church — a series examining the theological roots of pastoral misconduct. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/veterans-church-checklist https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/veterans-church-checklist Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Church Evaluation A veteran's 12-question checklist for evaluating church leadership, financial transparency, and accountability structures before committing to a congregation. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/biblical-qualifications-vs-reality https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/biblical-qualifications-vs-reality Sun, 12 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Biblical Standards A veteran's comparison of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 biblical qualifications against the reality of celebrity pastoral culture. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/red-flags-veterans-spot https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/red-flags-veterans-spot Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Church Evaluation The toxic leadership red flags that veterans trained to spot immediately — and that civilians in the pew often miss entirely. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/healthy-church-leadership https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/healthy-church-leadership Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Church Health What healthy church leadership looks like through the lens of military chaplaincy, servant leadership, and biblical elder plurality. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/military-leaders-fired https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/military-leaders-fired Tue, 07 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Accountability The double standard between military accountability under the UCMJ and the pastoral double standard that excuses adultery, financial misconduct, and abuse. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/leading-by-example https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/leading-by-example Sun, 05 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Leadership A biblical and military analysis of servant leadership versus celebrity pastor hype culture. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/accountability-structures https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/accountability-structures Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Accountability How the military's chain of command, UCMJ, and inspector general model provides a blueprint for church accountability structures that actually work. https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/getting-started https://bereanexaminer.com/men-under-authority/getting-started Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 The Berean Examiner Men Under Authority Getting Started A veteran's guide to using the Men Under Authority series to evaluate church leadership, spot red flags, and find a healthy congregation.