Ep. 567: Lonnie Frisbee, ACNA, SXSW, Kazakhstan, and More

 

Christina

Hello, everyone, I’m Christina Darnell, the managing editor of MinistryWatch. Welcome to the MinistryWatch podcast.

In today’s extra episode, I talk with Warren Smith about some news items that are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.”

So, Warren, what’s up first?

Warren

This week, I’ve been thinking a bit about Lonnie Frisbee, one of the more interesting and tragic figures of American Evangelicalism was Lonnie Frisbee.

Christina

He was a key figure in the so-called “Jesus Revolution” of the 1970s, and he helped found two church movements still around today: Calvary Chapel and Vineyard Churches.

Warren

That’s right. He influenced John Wimber, Greg Laurie, and many others. He died this week (March 12) in 1993 of AIDS.

But before he died, he had an outsized impact on the Jesus Revolution, both for good and for ill. I won’t go into his biography here, but if you check out my “Signs and Wonders” column this week, I have a link to a longer story I did about him a few years ago. It will be in the show notes for today’s program.

To read more about Frisbee and the mark he left on American Evangelicalism, click here.

Christina

You’ve also been thinking about Kazakhstan this week.

Warren

Yes, it might sound strange, but I am paying attention to Kazakhstan this week.

Christina

That seems kind of random. Is there a reason?

Warren

They vote on Friday on a new constitution, the third constitution since 1993. Kazakhstan is one of the largest countries in the world by land mass. And within Kazakhstan is the largest lake in the world, the Caspian Sea, which is not a sea at all, but a massive lake the size of the state of Montana.

Christina

But for all its size, it has only about 20 million people.

Warren

A long-time Soviet satellite, it is an independent nation with a sizable Christian population – about 20 percent. However, it is a country that has a history of human rights, free speech, and civil liberties violations. Critics say the new constitution will further consolidate power with the country’s chief executive. Christian ministries operating in Kazakhstan include the Kazakhstan Baptist Union, Youth for Christ, Salvation Army, Operation Mobilization, and International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Christina

Another event happening this week is a bit outside of MinistryWatch’s normal coverage, but is a huge cultural event. That’s the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

Warren

South by Southwest, commonly called “South by,” is one of the largest tech, movie, music, and culture events in the country. It regularly draws 120,000 to Austin, Texas. I covered SXSW for WORLD and was always able to find some explicitly Christian events going on.

Last year, there was a significant faith component to the proceedings. Silicon Valley Christian hosted SVC at SXSW. It was the largest explicitly Christian gathering at South by this year. Last year’s event included a “keynote conversation” with actor Zachary Levi, cultural conversations about Christianity in tech spaces, and music, including musicians Matt Maher and For King and Country.

The details on this year’s event are vague, though its Sunday worship service appears still to be on. Christian artists appearing at South by this week include Mission and Sam Llanes.

Christina

South by Southwest has a significant technology component. In fact, it was at South by that Twitter was first rolled out, in the early 2000s. From those beginnings, social media has gone on to take over the world in many ways.

Warren

That’s right, but now new laws are attempting to limit social media, especially in the lives of young people. One of those new laws was recently passed in Virginia.

Christina

But WORLD Magazine reports that a federal judge on Feb. 27 temporarily paused enforcement of the Virginia law.

Warren

The law would limit minors under 16 to one hour of screen time per social media platform per day.”  The law was supported by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the state’s attorney general, and an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Virginia legislature.

Christina

Nonetheless, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles sided with NetChoice, an industry trade group representing YouTube, Google, X, Netflix, and other platforms.

Warren

The judge said the law violated First Amendment free speech protections. Giles said the 2025 law “burdens more speech than necessary as it requires all persons to verify their age before accessing speech that is protected for everyone.” The state has appealed the ruling.

Christina

And there’s more trouble in the Anglican Church in North America.

Warren

ACNA appointed Bishop Julian Dobbs to be its acting archbishop back in November, when Archbishop Steve Wood was credibly charged with sexual harassment of one of his employees.

Now, old accusations that Dobbs misappropriated $47,862 have been raised by one of his rivals, Bishop Derek Jones.

Christina

Jones left ACNA a few months ago following a controversy over his leadership of the military chaplains. He has formed a new denomination called the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church.

Warren

Dobbs is now suing Jones for defamation. Dobbs says the disputed sum is $3,750, and the money was not misappropriated, but temporarily put into the wrong back account. The mistake was caught and quickly corrected. Former Archbishop Foley Beach backs up Dobbs’ version of the story. Dobbs asked a federal court in Alabama to order Bishop Derek Jones to pay compensatory and punitive damages.

Christina

That brings us to the end of this week’s conversation. Any final notes before we go?

Warren

A few. Did you know I also write fiction? I published a novel back in 2017, and I’m working on a new novel now. The Blacklist, an influential community of screenwriters and novelists, is featuring my novel-in-progress Up The American on its site this week. If you want to read the excerpt they are publishing, I’ll link to it in today’s show notes.

I have some travel coming up in the next couple of months, and I would love to see you. I will be in Los Angeles in April and Dallas in May. I will be doing reader lunches in both cities. Let me know if you would like to join us. My email is wsmith@ministrywatch.com.

Christina

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. I’m Christina Darnell, with my co-host Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.