On this week's episode Coleen and Angela will be discussing MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) with Stephanie Schumacher. Stephanie has written a wonderful article about MOPS. Check out Stephanie's article Why Your Church (and You, Believer) Should Stop Associating with MOPS International. Check out our more extensive resource sheet for this episode here.
A Note From Coleen:
Theology Gals exists to encourage women in the study of God's Word, sound theology and discernment. When we became aware of the problems with MOPS International, we knew this was an important topic that needed to be addressed. I have spent a lot of my time the last month researching MOPS, including reading Mandy Arioto's (President and CEO of MOPS) books and speaking with ladies that are currently and were previously involved in MOPS, some in leadership positions.
We are aware that women have various experiences with MOPS as each program can be run differently. We are also aware that some of these programs are diligent in sharing the gospel clearly each week, which we are grateful for. We have been informed of a possible gospel presentation in the MOPS Christmas and/or Easter videos. Our concerns are still the same. The true gospel is not clear in Mandy's books and it is not central to the MOPS program.
While we state our case strongly, we are not saying anything new. I think most, if not all of our concerns have been communicated by others to both Mandy Arioto and the MOPS board. You can find the same concerns in “1 star” reviews regarding Mandy's books on both Amazon and ChristianBook. Sarah Wilkins brought up many of the same concerns in 2016 in her Open Letter to MOPS. As I mention at the end of the episode “when the faith is on the line, the tone is necessarily strong” quoting this article.
I have spoken with women that have brought their concerns to MOPS and some that even spoke with Mandy directly. I'm aware of some of the responses and accusations that may come our way. We are speaking out because we love God and our neighbor, because we love The Church, .
I know that one of MOPS responses to concerns has to do with the number of women that “get saved” at MOPS each year. I have heard stories of some of the testimonies of these women and I'm convinced that some counted in those numbers have no idea what the gospel is. This means they still need the gospel. I have no doubt that some women have come to saving faith in Christ through MOPS programs, I've spoken with a few myself. However, we believe that it is necessary for doctrinally sound, gospel preaching churches, to separate from MOPS. We discuss the reasons in detail in the episode.
~Coleen Sharp
Theology Gals host
All correspondence should be sent to [email protected]
Episode Resources:
Extended Resource sheet for this episode
Discernment: Growing Up In Christ Theology Gals Episode
What is the Gospel? Michael Horton (video)
Open Letter of Concern Over MOPS International Sarah Wilkins
MOPS and Its Move Away from Biblical Christianity Sarah Wilkins
Mysticism: We Don’t Need You Theology Gals Episode
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism Theology Gals Episode
Christless Christianity Michael Horton (video)
Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church by Michael Horton (book)
Tone Deaf Ref by Carl Trueman
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