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All (252) Mike Winger (252)
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Addressing a church drifting from Scripture — approach thoughtfully, privately first, then through proper channels

Question from Nala about a church where the Bible is not preached and the lead pastor bulldozes people.

Matthew 18 church leadership Matthew 18 ecclesiology
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-09

Complementarianism vs. chauvinism — Paul's teaching on women roles is not male chauvinism

Question from Proverbs 17:11 about family calling him demon-possessed and a chauvinist for holding Paul's teaching

women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2018-09-26

Can a high school student give a sermon? — Giving a message vs. holding the office of elder

A viewer asks whether biblical leadership qualifications prevent a high school student from giving a message at a school Bible study.

1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 3 elder qualifications youth ministry
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-18

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's claim that the NT contains anti-Semitic propaganda and forged passages is theologically foolish — it substitutes his personal agenda for textual criticism and makes him the effective authority over Scripture.

Q: What do you think of Shmuley Boteach's claim that the NT has anti-Semitic propaganda Christians should reject as forgeries?

Romans 9-11 Shmuley Boteach Anti-Semitism and the New Testament Romans 9-11
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-01

Announcement: upcoming deep-dive study on women's roles and gender in the church

2021 ministry plans

women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-01

Q11: Most notable OT leader — Moses

Response to question on biblical leadership study

Exodus David Moses Abraham
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-01

Ephesians 5: husband's model is Christ dying for the church on earth, not Christ ruling as Lord in heaven

Continuing Q19 on husband-wife authority

Ephesians 5:25 hermeneutics headship servant leadership
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-15

Hillsong is not a progressive church — progressives target traditional Christianity, Hillsong seeks an inclusive umbrella

Answering whether Hillsong qualifies as theologically progressive.

Bethel Church Christian unity Hillsong
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-29

Why care about false doctrine (prosperity gospel, word of faith)? Because doctrinal error has real-world spiritual consequences

Question from Tony about why false doctrine matters if it does not compromise salvation.

discernment prosperity gospel apostasy
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-29

Discipleship readiness: everyone can encourage immediately; formal leadership is about raising others up, not establishing authority

Second part of Bree Herb's question: how do you know when you are ready to disciple others?

discipleship spiritual leadership mentoring
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

Exodus 4:24 interpreted: God's threat on Moses's life is a warning to leaders who are hypocrites — faithful in ministry but unfaithful in personal obedience.

Interpretation of why God sought to kill Moses before he led Israel out of Egypt.

Exodus 4:24 Moses Exodus 4:24 Circumcision
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-05

Application from Exodus 4:24: ministry success does not substitute for personal sanctification; leaders must take heed to themselves.

Personal application of the Exodus 4:24 passage for ministry leaders.

Exodus 4:24 Exodus 4:24 Sanctification Leadership accountability
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-12

Q11: Who can perform baptism? Scripture gives no explicit rule but establishes community precedent; a parent can baptize a child

Viewer 'Skirt Bobcat' asks who is authorized to perform baptism and whether a parent can baptize their children.

Paul the Apostle church authority baptism
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-19

Question: Is it wrong for a pastor to live in a huge home with a salary higher than 90% of his congregation?

Viewer JR asks whether high pastoral salaries and luxury homes are appropriate.

church leadership pastoral ethics pastoral compensation
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-19

Wise rule: pastor should live roughly at the level of his congregation

Mike's practical guideline for appropriate pastoral compensation.

church leadership pastoral ethics pastoral compensation
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-04

Women serving as elders is not Winger's current biblical position, but he plans a thorough future research project before finalizing his view.

Question from Patience Kachidza about a mother-in-law ordained as an elder in a church.

Women in ministry Women as elders Church leadership
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

Ministry titles and the clergy-laity distinction: what Jesus really forbade in Matthew 23

Chris Horn asked whether Matthew 23:8-12 prohibits using ministry titles like pastor or elder.

1 Timothy 3 Galatians 3:28 Matthew 23:8-12 servant leadership overseer episkopos
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: channeled content, demonic origin, pastoral danger

Rachel joined a church prayer group using the devotional Jesus Calling and found concerning content.

discernment false teaching church discipline
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-26

Wife more spiritually mature than husband — encouragement over competition

Lil Mik Nick asks for advice when a wife is more spiritually mature than her husband who has admitted it.

marriage encouragement discipleship
Mike Winger idea 2021-02-26

Getting close to God and overcoming demonic oppression — prerequisites and warnings

Professor of Everything asks for advice on getting close to God and overcoming demons and oppression.

repentance pride spiritual warfare
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-09

What is a local church and is planting under an existing church a biblical mandate?

Question from Droopy's Dad about church definition and whether church plants must be authorized by an existing church.

Ecclesiology Church planting Local church
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-30

Brief assessment of Spurgeon; no strong opinions on Swedenborg or Watchman Nee.

Question 3/4 from Marty (South Africa) about the works of Swedenborg, Watchman Nee, and Spurgeon.

Charles Spurgeon Emmanuel Swedenborg Watchman Nee
Mike Winger idea 2020-03-18

Q: New church member sharing New Age content. Options: approach the person gently, or approach leadership. Example: Doreen Virtue (former New Age guru) became Christian but retained New Age practices — no Christians helped correct her, they just condemned her. New believers need patient discipleship, not condemnation.

Q&A — New Age content in church

New Age Doreen Virtue
Mike Winger idea 2020-04-15

Mike on women in ministry: he's complementarian — the highest leadership/preaching/governing role is reserved for men God has called. But he struggles with how to apply this to the wide variety of modern ministry situations. Women can teach; the question is in what contexts. He encourages women to study Scripture carefully and let it guide their choices.

Women in ministry — complementarian but cautious on application

1 Timothy 2:12 women in ministry complementarianism complementarianism
Mike Winger idea 2020-03-23

First livestreamed Sunday night Bible study (during COVID). Mark Series Pt 32 covering Mark 9:33-42 — unnecessary division, competition in Christian leadership, and why pastors shouldn't be CEOs.

Introduction — Mark 9:33-42

Mark 9:33-42 Mark Series servant leadership Mark 9:33-42 Mark Series
Mike Winger idea 2020-03-23

Mark 9:35: "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Jesus flips worldly leadership upside down. Parallel: Matthew 6:1-6 — Pharisees do good works for human recognition and get no reward from God. 1 Peter 5:3: lead by example, don't lord over people. The test: if everyone treated people the way you treat people, would it make a healthy church?

Servant leadership vs worldly leadership

Matthew 6:1-6 1 Peter 5:3 servant leadership servant leadership Matthew 6:1-6
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-18

Mark Series pt 39: Mark 10:35-45. James and John ask for positions of authority in Jesus's kingdom. Jesus teaches that greatness in his kingdom = servanthood, the opposite of worldly leadership. This passage addresses pastoral abuse at its root: the false expectation that Christian leadership means authority rather than service.

Introduction — Mark 10:35-45 and pastoral abuse

Mark 10:45 Mark 10:35-45 James and John request servant leadership servant leadership Mark 10:45
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-18

Mark 10:42-45 — Jesus's leadership model: "You know that those recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them... but it is not this way among you." The greatest must be servant; the first must be slave of all. Pastoral abuse happens when leaders adopt CEO mentality — protecting their vision, reputation, and authority instead of serving. Signs: demanding allegiance to the leader rather than to Christ, silencing criticism, creating distance/hierarchy, using authority for personal benefit.

Pastoral abuse — CEO vs servant leadership

Mark 10:42-44 pastoral abuse CEO mentality in ministry Mark 10:42-44
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-12

The Parable of the Vineyard (Mark 12:1-12) is Jesus's most backhanded parable — told directly to the Sanhedrin, predicting they'll reject and kill God's Son, be destroyed, and be replaced. They know it's about them but can't use it in court.

Introduction and overview of Mark 12:1-12

Mark 12:1-12 Psalm 118:22-23 Mark series Sanhedrin Sanhedrin Mark 12:1-12
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-12

A consistent OT pattern: it's the LEADERS of Israel who persecute God's messengers (Jezebel vs. Elijah, Saul vs. David, people of Ephraim vs. Gideon, King Jehoiakim vs. Jeremiah). The motive: wanting power, credit, and avoidance of suffering.

OT examples of leadership rejecting prophets and application to modern rejection of the gospel

Jeremiah 7:25-26 leadership accountability Jeremiah 7:25-26 leadership accountability
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-12

Psalm 118:22-23 (rejected cornerstone) is quoted by the crowd entering Jerusalem AND by Jesus to the Sanhedrin — the "builders" (scribes/scholars in rabbinic literature) reject the stone, but God establishes it anyway. The "others" who receive the vineyard are the leaders of the Christian church.

The cornerstone quotation and who replaces the vine growers

James 3:1 Psalm 118:22-23 papacy James 3:1 leadership accountability
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-12

Final applications: (1) Humility — see yourself with the same clarity you see others; (2) Obedience — receive God's messengers, don't reject them; (3) Leaders can be replaced; (4) The cornerstone wins — no matter what opposition arises, Jesus's lordship is the end of the story.

Closing summary and applications from Mark 12:1-12

humility humility leadership accountability
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-11

Mark 12:38-44 is Jesus's warning about fake spirituality in leadership and money-grubbing preachers, paired with the widow's offering showing what genuine sacrificial giving looks like. This is a pervasive, ongoing danger.

Introduction to Mark Series pt 51 on the scribes and the widow's mite

Mark 12:38-44 Mark series Mark 12:38-44 Mark series fake spiritual leadership
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-11

The veneer problem: leaders can portray a greater spirituality than they actually possess. Those who don't notice it reward it, installing fake spiritual leaders who install more. Character must trump stage skills in leadership selection.

The danger of rewarding veneer over substance in church leadership

leadership accountability leadership accountability fake spiritual leadership
Mike Winger idea 2021-06-11

Winger walks through 1 Timothy 3 elder qualifications, acknowledging real-life churches (especially small ones) struggle to find people who meet all criteria. Lists: blameless, husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy, gentle, not quarrelsome, rules his own house well, not a novice.

Q&A: How literally should we follow the qualifications for pastors/elders in 1 Timothy and Titus?

1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 3 elder qualifications 1 Timothy 3 elder qualifications
Mike Winger idea 2021-06-25

Promises vs. Prophecies: Is there a difference between a promise and a prophecy? Are all God's promises prophecies? Am I responsible if a prophecy told about me doesn't come to pass? A church leader told me these things.

Q&A question: Promises vs. Prophecies

church leadership prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2021-07-30

Church Leader Living in Sin? Letter vs. Spirit: I am a young adult, still living in my parents' home. My father is the pastor of our small church. One of my siblings has leadership roles, but is living in sin (cohabitation). My father has talked with him, but hasn't taken any biblical action to remove him from leadership or from church. The elders don't see a need to do anything either. What should I do? (I'm the youngest and a daughter.) I was told I was taking the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law.

Q&A question: Church Leader Living in Sin? Letter vs. Spirit

elder qualifications church leadership pastoral ministry
Mike Winger idea 2021-08-06

How to Handle Online-Only Congregants: How should churches handle their local online only congregants? This is a big dilemma in my church's leadership right now. (Let's assume that it is safe to return to in-person church.)

Q&A question: How to Handle Online-Only Congregants
Mike Winger idea 2022-04-01

Winger says NO — do not follow your husband to a cult. The Bible never gives husbands spiritual authority to dictate their wife's worship. Wives have a relationship with God independent of their husbands. He also rejects the 'husband as priest of his house' teaching as unbiblical. Uses 1 Peter 3:1-6 extensively.

Q&A: Husband joined a cult teaching women go to hell for wearing makeup/trousers. Should wife submit and follow him there?

1 Peter 3:1-6 complementarianism headship complementarianism
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-17

Balancing Duties as a Young Leader: I am a full time high school/youth pastor whose role involves a lot of leadership and administrative duties. As a young person, I find it challenging and catch myself trying to overcompensate. Advice?

Q&A question: Balancing Duties as a Young Leader

pastoral ministry
Mike Winger idea 2022-07-15

Can Past Sins Disqualify a Man from Leadership?: If a man’s pre-salvation life is especially disgraceful, could he ever truly be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2)? Could old sin, then, even if confessed, disqualify him from being a pastor or elder?

Q&A question: Can Past Sins Disqualify a Man from Leadership?

1 Timothy 3:2 1 Timothy 3 Timothy 1 Timothy 3:2 elder qualifications
Mike Winger idea 2024-03-15

Winger defends his call for egalitarians to repent, distinguishing it from Calvinism disagreements because egalitarianism directly harms marriages and church leadership structure. He also calls patriarchalists to repent for teaching women are inherently more easily deceived.

Q&A question from someone who agrees egalitarians should repent but asks if the same applies to Calvinism as a secondary issue.

women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2024-05-24

Winger rejects the 'covering' argument that a senior male pastor can authorize female elders/pastors under his headship. A husband is the head of his wife — an elder is NOT the head of other elders. 1 Timothy 2 says 'I don't allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man,' period — not 'without a male head.'

Q&A: advice for a member of a church with a male lead elder pastoring alongside ordained female elders who often teach on Sundays.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 1 Timothy 2:12 women in ministry complementarianism headship
Mike Winger idea 2024-06-28

Winger says a wife co-teaching an adult Sunday school Bible study IS an elder-type role and would be wrong under his complementarian view. However, co-teaching a topical class (like parenting) is NOT eldership and he'd be fine with it. He warns against creating Pharisaic rules but draws the line at verse-by-verse Bible teaching.

Bonus Q after viewer watched WIM series: Is a woman helping her husband teach a co-ed adult Sunday school class an elder-type role?

1 Timothy 2:12 women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2024-07-05

Is Family Planning Sinful?: My church teaches that a couple must continuously have as many children as they're able, and it's seen as selfish and a sin resulting in church discipline if they use any form of family planning to stop. Many have 12-18 children as a result. Leadership says God wouldn't give more children than a couple can handle. Is this biblical? We already have 5 children.

Q&A question: Is Family Planning Sinful?

parenting
Mike Winger idea 2025-02-14

Should We Expose Pastors?: Can you provide an overview of why it is biblical and right to expose abusive and harmful pastors and those who are in positions of Christian leadership?

Q&A question: Should We Expose Pastors?

pastoral ministry
Mike Winger idea 2025-06-06

How to Share Concerns w/Leadership: Can you share some advice on how to approach church leadership with concerns regarding what appears to be false theology creeping into my church? Specifically: a lot of Hillsong/Elevation songs, TPT references, etc.

Q&A question: How to Share Concerns w/Leadership

church leadership Hillsong
Mike Winger idea 2025-07-18

Church Leadership: Unbiblical Demands?: A church I know has an Intellectual Property document that staff signs and it says they can't pursue personal creative projects without the leadership’s permission. Is this biblical?

Q&A question: Church Leadership: Unbiblical Demands?

church leadership
Mike Winger idea 2025-08-08

Winger advises a 16-year-old in an egalitarian church on how to approach leaders: do self-assessment first (Matt 7:5, Gal 6:1), don't become one-sided in critique, acknowledge blessings from women's ministry even if the role is unbiblical, bring SPECIFIC evidence rather than just conviction, and start with encouragement.

Q from 16-year-old who has been studying Winger's Women in Ministry series and wants to discuss egalitarianism with church leaders.

Galatians 6:1 Matthew 7:5 women in ministry egalitarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2025-09-12

The Moses Model: Biblical?: Given your Calvary Chapel background and current focus on church leadership structures vulnerable to abuse, how does the Moses Model ensure checks and balances on authority in the church?

Q&A question: The Moses Model: Biblical?

Moses church leadership Calvary Chapel
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