Top Ten Blog Posts of 2017

In 2017, the following ten posts received the most page views:
10. K-LOVE’s Pledge Drive: Money Behind the Music (2017)
9. Former Newsping Pastor Perry Noble Incorporates Second Change Church (2017)
8. American College of Pediatricians v. American Academy of Pediatrics: Who Leads and Who Follows? (2011)
7. After the Demise of Mars Hill Church Mark Driscoll Landed on His Feet with Over One Million in Donations (2017)
6. IRS and Postal Service Agents on Scene at Benny Hinn’s Office (2017)
5. Mark Driscoll Spins the End of Mars Hill Church (2017)
4. A Major Study of Child Abuse and Homosexuality Revisited (2009)
3. Former CFO at Turning Point Claims David Jeremiah Used Questionable Methods to Secure a Spot on Best Seller Lists (2015)
2. What’s Going on at Harvest Bible Fellowship? James MacDonald Resigns as President of HBF (2017)
and the #1 post is:

  1. Open Letter to Gateway Pastor Robert Morris from a Former Member of Mars Hill Church (2014)

 
Some past posts have aged well. The 2009 post regarding child abuse and non-heterosexuality has been in the top ten nearly every year since 2009.counseling image 2 Readers continue to be interested in Mars Hill Church and various players surrounding the demise of that church.
Although the page views don’t show it, the story that continues to be covered here and almost nowhere else is the Gospel for Asia saga. The target of federal scrutiny and two RICO lawsuits in the U.S., GFA has also initiated and been involved in various legal actions in India. Although the scope of the GFA empire dwarfs other organizations I have examined, it continues to fly along under the radar.
For a profile of my work and the role blogging has played in it, see this lengthy article by Jon Ward in Yahoo News earlier this month.

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Perry Noble Invites You to Win with Weight

I’m just going to leave this here:
Perry Noble Win Weight
When last we visited our intrepid preacher, he was fronting a new church – the Second Chance Church. Now he’s saying no to second helpings of whatever is on the menu with his new weight loss devotional series.  For only the perfect amount of $7, you get:

  • A 10-day devotional written to help you begin your journey
  • A custom workout plan (including printouts) to help you get physically fit
  • Access to a private Facebook Group for encouragement and support on your fitness journey
  • A workout playlist featuring some of my favorite songs

Perry’s favorite songs? That’s probably worth the seven bucks right there.
The video promo is surreal. He launches into his stories as if his church and marriage losses never happened. He says this is the best thing the Lord ever allowed him to produced.
Just in time for Christmas gift giving!
As an aside, just try getting through the entire video without blinking. I don’t think Noble blinks. I don’t know for sure because I keep blinking and maybe he blinks when I do. He has the most amazing ability to keep his eyes wide open for long periods of time.
 
 

Former NewSpring Pastor Perry Noble Incorporates Second Chance Church

After NewSpring Church former pastor Perry Noble was fired by the church he founded, he went into a brief period of media silence. The firing related to alcohol use and family issues and the response was to enter rehab followed by a helping relationship with psychologist John Walker. More recently, Noble launched a consultation business called the Growth Company which targets both businesses and churches.  Even more recently, Noble has been preaching at churches as a guest speaker. Now, apparently, Noble plans to launch a new church — Second Chance Church.

According to a filing with the South Carolina Secretary of State on 7/14/17, Perry Noble incorporated the Second Chance Church as a religious organization in South Carolina.  The incorporation papers are routine for a church except that this church only requires three board members and they do not have to live within South Carolina.
Second Chance Church Screen Cap
At the end of July, Noble posted a reflection after a year of being in recovery.  He described a bit about his experience since going into rehabilitation in Tucson, AZ. Curiously, he did not mention his wife or former church. Concerning his status with his former church NewSpring, he doesn’t seem to be getting a second chance there. The feud blew up into a public debate recently between the church and Noble. Noble accused the church of misrepresenting him and the church leadership said they had attempted to support Noble’s recovery.
No doubt, his return to more formal ministry will reignite conversation about how soon is too soon to return to vocational ministry after being forced to leave it.

Related Information

There is at least one other Second Chance Church in the U.S. There is no obvious connection between the two entities.
Possible first sermon series in the new church: Get Back Up!

After the rehab experience, Noble entered the care of psychologist John Walker. From Noble’s Facebook page:

John Walker has been my therapist for around seven years now and I hold him in highest regard. In those seven years I’ve allowed him to speak into me; however, I am now humbly submitting myself to him and giving him authority over me as I believe he will serve as my pastor, my psychologist and my spiritual formations director in this next season.

Perry Noble is Back!

Perry Noble is back and ready to help you.
He is busy tweeting, recording podcasts, and launching his consulting service – The Growth Co. at www.iwantmychurchtogrow.com. He also has a business consulting wing at www.iwantmybusinesstogrow.com. Looks like he is going all John Maxwell on us.
Last we saw Noble (September of 2016), he had “gone dark” on social media and was submitting to his psychologist/pastor/mentor while dealing with personal issues. Just prior to his brief absence from the public eye, Noble was relieved of his duties as founding pastor at NewSpring Church.
Noble’s consulting service is based on his success at New Spring and seems pretty ambitious. Here are some of what Noble offers:

“We would love to talk to you (the senior leader) and/or your entire team about maximizing your potential, delegating what drains you, and making sure you do not burn out.”
“One of the ways we can serve leaders is by providing personal leadership coaching and development, making sure you are maximizing every aspect of your leadership.”
“We can do a deep dive on culture and create a place that both you and others love.”
“We would love the opportunity to partner with you and show you why this is so important and how to maximize social media to connect to more people and grow your church.”
“One of the things we can do is come alongside of you and plan out a 52 week preaching calendar that will maximize attendance, give you several preaching breaks and allow you to establish momentum unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”
“At NewSpring we took a budget of $58,000 (our first year) to over $63,000,000 – and in so doing learned a few things along the way I believe will help you maximize giving in your church.”
“Jesus said He would build His church, and your church is not the exception.  Let’s chat about what we can do to set your church up for healthy, lasting growth.”

The last quote confuses me. If Jesus is going to build His church, then why do I need Perry Noble to do it? I suspect Noble and any number of other consultants could help me build a bigger religious business with more customers and a bigger budget. What I don’t understand is why I need Noble to help build the entity that Jesus is already building.