The problem with parachurch organizations…

By Elizabeth Prata

Today John Piper is trending on social media. Whenever a prominent Christian pastor or teacher is trending, I look into why. It’s usually not becuase the world has suddenly decided that these men are worth listening to and are applauding their wisdom. No. It’s usually the opposite. They have said something contrary to the world, and the word takes issue, even the professing Christian world. Or, they died.

Since it was Piper and he’s elderly (77 years old), I looked into the trend right away. Gladly, he is still alive and walking- and speaking. The controversy for today is that John Piper said in his podcast a few days ago, responding to a listener’s question, that para-church organizations should not be run or led by women. You can hear the 13-minute conversation at the link or read the transcript.

The questioner went on with saying that in his globally well-known parachurch ministry, “Women will [now] be permitted to teach men from the Scripture, to be in positions of spiritual authority over men, to shape and correct doctrine within the organization, and to mentor men in their ministry roles. The reason given for this change is that a parachurch organization is not the church…”

The Christian Post wrote about Piper’s reply it, here.
The Christian Mail weighed in with Piper’s reply also, here.

Nancy Pearcy, a well-known teacher and author, took issue with Piper’s stance, saying on Twitter, “Piper keeps digging in deeper. I am a professor at a Christian university. Some of my students are men–which means, I teach men. Many men also read my books, which could be construed as a type of teaching.”

I have written about parachurch ministries several times. I’ll link those below. Some reasons I am reserved about some parachurch organizations is that they directly and purposely compete with local churches. Some just have no accountability that we can detect. Some draw women away from their home church infect them with false teaching and send them back to the home church to infect it. Or, they are run by women with a poor understanding of scripture and gradually become unorthodox.

Here, J. Mack Stiles at 9Marks writes,

The standard cliché for parachurch is that it’s not the church, but an arm of the church. Yet historically, that arm has shown a tendency to develop a mind of its own and crawl away from the body, which creates a mess. Given the grand scope and size of many parachurch ministries, those which go wayward can propagate error for years: missionary organizations become gyms, heretical seminaries pump out heretical pastors, and service organizations produce long-term confusion between the gospel and social action. So what should mark a healthy parachurch? Read on to find out what Mr Stiles considers marks of a healthy parachurch.

I can’t be totally against parachurch organizations across the board, of course. Gideon’s International is a parachurch ministry. So is Ligonier from RC Sproul. Samaritan’s Purse that helps so many people after a disaster, is considered a parachurch ministry. Many parachurch ministries are healthy. But of the ones founded and/or led by women, I do have reservations. It doesn’t matter they “are not the church” as Piper explained, the ministry still should not be led or run by women-

Let me offer two reasons for thinking this way. One is that when the apostle Paul gave his instructions that only spiritually qualified men should teach and exercise authority in the church, his argument was not based on culture or on family or church or structures — ecclesiastical structures or any others. It was based on two things: (1) the order of man and woman in creation and (2) the dynamics between man and woman in the fall.

I’ll link to some of the articles I’ve written about parachurch ministries. Some of these organizations are bastions of false doctrine, hotbeds of feminism, and synagogues of satan, cloaked in flowery social media banners with softening filters and comfy women speech. Do not be deceived. Stay true to the Bible’s guardrails for orthodoxy and be careful of the teachings you choose to absorb, whether the teachings are in, or out of, the church.

I’m suspicious of para-church organizations. Here’s why

The issue with Parachurch organizations – especially ones founded by women Part 1 of a 3-part series

The issue with Parachurch organizations – especially ones founded by women part 2: Yada Factor

The issue with Parachurch Organizations – Especially Ones Founded by Women, part 3

IF:Gathering- More Information I’ve written about IF parachurch ministry several times. Some of those links are inside the essay here. Or you can plug IF:Gathering into the search bar to find more.