As another year draws to a close, readers reviewing the top news articles from ChurchLeaders for 2024 will notice a theme: Scandal has rocked the church this year. The majority of headlines that make up our most-read stories tell a sobering tale.
Nevertheless, there are bright spots in our Top 20 List, which includes articles that show how God’s love triumphs over darkness.
Top News Articles on ChurchLeaders in 2024
20. Daystar Christian TV Empire Rocked by Allegations of Abuse, Cover-Ups, and Smear Campaign
Allegations of cover-ups, threats, and a smear campaign began flying this fall among the family behind Daystar Television Network, founded in 1993 by Marcus and Joni Lamb.
Jonathan Lamb and his wife, Suzy, spoke out, alleging that Joni Lamb has tried to cover up the sexual abuse of their daughter—her granddaughter—by an unnamed family member.
In response, Joni Lamb, Daystar’s president, said her son is waging a “failed power struggle” because he wasn’t named president after his father’s 2021 death.
19. Pastor Greg Locke’s Home Hit With Automatic Gunfire—‘God Protected Us in Unimaginable and Supernatural Ways’
Greg Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Tennessee, was the victim of a drive-by shooting the night of Sept. 3. While his home was riddled with bullets, no one was injured.
According to a social media post that Locke shared, the shooting took place moments before he and his family pulled into the driveway.
18. WATCH: Megachurch Pastor Responds to Profanity Shouted During Service
Ed Newton, lead pastor of Community Bible Church (CBC) in San Antonio, interrupted a service to address a churchgoer shouting profanity. In doing so, Newton took an opportunity to, in his own words, “be a church that embraces the tension of grace and truth.”
17. Pastor John MacArthur Says Martin Luther King Jr. ‘Wasn’t a Christian at All,’ His ‘Life Was Immoral’
In February, popular author and pastor-teacher John MacArthur claimed that civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. “wasn’t a Christian at all” and that his “life was immoral.”
MacArthur, who for more than five decades has pastored Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, made these comments while criticizing The Gospel Coalition (TGC) and Together for the Gospel (T4G) during a Q&A session at his church.
16. Mark Driscoll Kicked Off Stage for Calling Out ‘Strip Club’-Like Performance at Stronger Men’s Conference
Controversial pastor Mark Driscoll was kicked off stage during his sermon at James River Church’s Stronger Men’s Conference in Springfield, Missouri, in April after publicly disagreeing with the conference’s opening performance.
Driscoll said the performance was something that could have been seen in a “strip club for women.”
