Lori Alexander, red flags of a false teacher, and the whole counsel of God

By Elizabeth Prata

A woman named Lori Alexander who goes by the nickname The Transformed Wife, handle of @godlywomanhood, who claims to be a Christian, has an enormous platform across a plethora of social media accounts. When a man or woman is solid in their doctrine AND in his or her lifestyle, this is a good thing. I love that social media has been invented and provides us a way to get the word of God out into the world…To connect with like-minded brethren…To honor and glorify God.

But when the person has a lifestyle that is a horror to God or teaches error, wrong doctrines, or twisted Bible verses, it’s a grief to God. It is also a danger to those who aren’t discerning enough to see beyond the form of a teacher’s godliness. Then followers are drawn into a dark path. In June 2023 I critiqued Lori Alexander’s online work.

In my discernment essay critiquing Lori’s doctrines and teachings, I used sources such as her own words in screenshots, quotes from her own blog etc. and compared her theology to the Bible’s. My essay seemed to have angered her and upset her greatly and that anger has not simmered down in the last 6 months…

How do I know?

Recently a lengthy article was published examining Lori’s online output (I won’t call it a ministry) from a psychological perspective. The author was Daniel Schricker, Ph.D, who is not only known for his music, (@ComposerDan90) but also for his academic work in identifying cults. He should know, he grew up in one. Since then he has dedicated his academic career in speaking and writing about the psychological use of fear in cults- especially against children.

In his article on Lori, Daniel Schricker said that according to Hassan’s ‘BITE’ Model, there are four “sets of criteria by which to define the modus operandi of harmful organisations, Behavior control, Information control, Thought control, and Emotional control.” Dr. Schricker goes through each of these criteria with matching examples from Lori’s online advice. He makes a compelling case.

Most disturbing are Lori’s teachings on behavior, with Dr. Schricker concluding, “All of these represent forms of behaviour control that are based entirely on Lori’s feelings, nothing else,” he said.

We know that Christians must base our learning and teaching on the Bible, nothing else. Red flag # 1 that Lori Alexander is a false teacher.

In her teaching and her behavior, Lori does exhibit the other three sets of criteria that harmful organizations exhibit as well- Thought control, Information control, and Emotional control. As to the latter, Dr. Schricker said:

“Emotional control is central to Lori’s thinking about her faith and is something she cites as a key to making a marriage last. Rather than recognising emotions as a healthy part of the human experience, she seems to believe that they are responsible for many of the problems women face. In the cult of Lori, women must silence and ignore their emotions entirely.”

Dr. Schricker’s article has agonized Lori. She is spending much time on several of her platforms railing against it, as well as dredging up my article from June 2023, which means it still obviously distresses her.

While it is never my intention to purposely antagonize anyone, even false teachers such as Lori, the truth will wound. It will either wound unto a godly sorrow leading to conviction and repentance, or it will lead to a distress that hardens one further into their errant position. Sadly I think the latter is Lori’s case. Her anguish at being called out is hardening her into her errant positions. This is sad to see.

The Lord uses both conviction and time to bring someone to Himself. Of the false teacher in Revelation 2 called Jezebel, Jesus gave her time to repent (Revelation 2:21). But she did not wish to repent. See also Romans 2:4, ‘the kindness of God leads to repentance’. But if the person has a stubborn and unrepentant heart, they are storing up wrath for themselves on the day of Judgment. (Romans 2:5).

BOTH show the glory of God in the end. Both His kindness and His just wrath glorifies Him. While we always pray for repentance for the false teacher, we ultimately pray God will be glorified in whatever the outcome.

I’d like to take a moment to parse Lori’s outrage and defenses. The lesson here is that one can be SO entrenched on one’s position, they literally can’t see. Cannot. So entrenched in sin their thinking becomes futile, doesn’t the Bible say this? (Romans 1:21).

Lori went on to say in that same post: (underlines are mine)

Many female Bible teachers don’t like me simply because I don’t believe women should teach theology. They should stick to teaching the doctrines of biblical womanhood as God commands in Titus 2:3-5.

1.It’s not about personally liking or disliking someone. I dislike Beth Moore’s theology intensely but I believe her to be a very likable person.

2.Theology and doctrine are the same thing. Theology is learning about God. Doctrine is, ahem, learning about God’s ways and teachings.

3.Since Lori restricts herself to Titus 2:4-5 only, I wonder if she knows that King Solomon has advised the following:

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching; Proverbs 1:8

Or Proverbs 6:20? My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Lori: “I have never aligned myself with false teachers nor have I ever preached in a church”

There is more to being false than simply those two things. It’s comforting to look at one’s self and say ‘I am not false because I never did X or Y’. Yes but what about when you did A or B? See: “Rich Young Ruler”. He thought he was saved because he ‘kept all the commandments since a youth’ but didn’t see that he had a huge hole in his theology, namely, his sin.

Lori said: “All of the commentaries of old agree with me and so do some other great pastors like Voddie Baucham.”

Cherry picking the sources that agree with one’s [unbiblical] stance is called confirmation bias. Psychologist Peter Wason has said this is the “tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed.”

While it’s great to consult other sources like commentaries and credible pastors and teachers, ultimately, the Bible is the only reliable source. And the Bible disagrees with Lori’s stance that women cannot teach theology to other women or children. Another red flag. Also: see Lois, Eunice, Priscilla.

She said: “I also believe women teaching the Bible and preaching in Women’s Bible studies is what has led to the plethora of female preachers in most churches today!”

Lori likes to blame women for much of what is wrong in Christendom. Yet she never mentions the man’s or the husband’s or the pastor’s part in allowing the woman to preach or fall into error. We didn’t “all fall in Eve.” We all fell in Adam. (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22).

See, that is another example of how her skewed theology skews her mental worldview – thus what comes out of her mouth is error.

I’ve written on the dangers of skewed theology before, and the importance of balance. Yes, I agree Lori is right on some of what she teaches. The problem is the error of omission. Adrian Rogers in his ministry Love Worth Finding speaks of James 4:17 and the sin of omission:

What is a sin of omission? The sin of omission is failure to do what you ought to be doing. James said, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It is a greater sin to fail to do what you ought to do than to do what you ought not to do.

Lori should be learning and teaching the whole counsel of God. It’s like this as an example: In the Bible the Proverbs 31 woman is counted as worthy and one to emulate. In Proverbs 31:16 the woman ‘considers a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.’

So let’s say a woman with a platform started teaching that women everywhere should buy a field and plant a vineyard. It’s in the Bible, right? This women was lauded for her activity, enscripturated in God’s word forever as a worthy women. Therefore ALL women should buy a field and plant an orchard. Then they will be happy and God will be happy.

And let’s say that is the only thing the woman teaches in her whole platforming career online. Is she right? Yes, the Bible does say that. But is that ALL it says for women? No. Lori makes the error of omission, failing to teach the whole counsel of God. See link below in “Further Reading” for an excellent article about what the whole counsel of God means.

One must be inside the strong fortress, its foundation the entire counsel of God. Every brick being every word of God. Clinging to two verses in the Bible as Lori does, Titus 2:4-5, will not sustain a person in the end. It’s like clinging to a sapling in a tornado. I’d rather be inside the strong fortress!

Why am I writing this? Truth requires a response. Dr. Schricker’s article presented psychological truth. My previous article presented truth of God’s word. To hear truth and to dismiss it or ignore it dishonors the truth giver and dishonors the Lord. It also puts people on a path of destruction.

My hope for Lori is this: that someday she will cease kicking against the goads, repent, and close all her platforms to honor the Lord. She spends much time on her many platforms, and repenting and closing her online work would mean she would have more time to tend to her home, husband, children, and grandchildren. I pray she will cease leading women down a dark path.

Further Reading

Great article by Randy Alcorn on The Whole Counsel of God: He opens the article with an example of what happens when we cherry pick verses to support our position. “If we want to better understand any doctrine or teaching, we must consider not bits and pieces of the Bible but “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27, ESV). The Bible features a staggering breadth and depth of truth that selective proof-texting can never reflect.“

TableTalk Magazine: Discernment without Judgmentalism by Eric Bancroft: Today’s marketplace of ideas is tragically filled with lies, distortions, and even heresies. Christians are called to be discerning as they engage with these ideas and the people who present them to us (Heb. 5:13–14). Such maturity of thought and ability to help others is to be modeled by elders of local churches, who are called on to “give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9).