Top of the Week: Jeremiah Johnson, Beth Moore Split Ministry Ties

Prophet, Pastor Jeremiah Johnson Ends Ministry: ‘Apologizing Wasn’t Enough’

Jeremiah Johnson, the self-described prophet who faced backlash from fellow evangelical Christians after publicly apologizing for prophesying former President Donald Trump would be reelected president, is ending Jeremiah Johnson Ministries.

The announcement comes “after much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord,” Johnson said Monday (March 8) on his Facebook page.

It also comes after his abrupt two-week hiatus in the middle of a YouTube series he titled “I Was Wrong.”

Johnson said during the series, which he described as a money loser, that apologizing wasn’t enough.

“I believe that it is a tremendous mistake to take the next four years to argue and debate and cause division and grow more prideful talking about how we think the election was taken from Donald Trump. I actually believe we need to take the next four years and humble ourselves,” he said.

Beth Moore Ends Relationship With Southern Baptists, Drops Lifeway as Publisher

Renowned Bible teacher and longtime Southern Baptist author and speaker Beth Moore has made a staggering decision public: On March 5, she told Religion News Service in an interview that she is “no longer a Southern Baptist.”

. @BethMooreLPM said the #SBC has been her family, her tribe and her world. But she is walking away, saying the denomination’s public witness has been poisoned. https://t.co/mmUXj3kQlv

— Religion News Service (@RNS) March 9, 2021

“I am still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists,” Moore said. “I love so many Southern Baptist people, so many Southern Baptist churches, but I don’t identify with some of the things in our heritage that haven’t remained in the past.” She also told RNS that she has ended her long-term relationship with Lifeway Christian, which will continue distributing her books but will no longer publish them or administer her live events.

An Open Letter to Andy Stanley: Churches Should Not Be Handcuffed

In a recent interview, Andy Stanley, pastor of Atlanta’s North Point Community Church, said he is “embarrassed” by churches that engaged in “spitting matches” with state and local governments over COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, lamenting that far too many churches “abandoned the mission for the sake of the model.”

No, we haven’t abandoned the mission because the mission is to be salt and light, to bring truth to a lost and perishing world and to stand boldly for the Word of God. We need to abandon fear and stop believing falsehoods leveled by those with an agenda to silence the pulpits and stop the spread of the gospel.

What makes me think it is an agenda? I don’t have time to go into all the inconsistencies, but let me present just a handful: Why did numbers drop substantially after the inauguration on Jan. 20 and the language about the virus change? Why are cases of the flu and pneumonia nearly extinct?

Why are Walmart and Costco packed every day of the year, while small businesses are being strangled? Why can people gather to protest the police, but more than 10 at a Thanksgiving dinner is a “super-spreader”?

Why Republican-Appointed Supreme Court Justices Turn Liberal

Gary Bauer of American Values says he can list a number of justices who have drifted left—but not one that has gone the other way. Why is that?

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts is one of the most obvious examples. In the last two to three years, he has completely reversed his stand on some decisions from what he originally said and how he voted previously. That should concern us because the law hasn’t changed. He has.

Senator Ted Cruz had his own opinion. “I actually think much of what is driving it is, I think, John despises Donald Trump,” he told CBN. “I think it’s personal.”

According to that same report, Gary Bauer of American Values says, “he hopes Sen. Cruz is wrong but says it’s as good an explanation as any other for the bizarre drift of Justice Roberts.

“‘It would be a terrible comment about Chief Justice Roberts if he was making decisions based on a personal dislike of President Trump,’ Bauer observed, “and, of course, the worrisome thing would be if there are disputes related to the election.”

Luis Palau, Billy Graham of Latin America, Dead at 86

Internationally known evangelist Luis Palau died today at his home in Portland, Oregon, after a three-year battle with stage 4 lung cancer, his family reports. He was 86.

His son Kevin posted the notice of his father’s death on the evangelist’s Facebook page, noting that “We are heartbroken, but full of faith. We serve a good God who loves us tremendously. And Dad gave his life to share that Good News with the world.”

Palau, an immigrant from Argentina, was often called the “Billy Graham of Latin America,” sharing the gospel in more than 80 nations across the globe. {eoa}

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