Allegations against Tim Whitaker and The New Evangelicals show how hierarchy transfers to progressive ministries

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global on March 20, 2025.

Spiritual abuse while protecting a theological and institutional hierarchy is a common story in conservative evangelicalism today. But on Sunday night, the script appeared to flip when news broke that Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment had been investigating Tim Whitaker and his organization, The New Evangelicals, who are some of the most popular names in progressive Christianity today.

When stories of abuse break regarding conservative evangelicalism, many of us focus on how the abuse was the fruit of theological and institutional hierarchy. Of course, men who think they’re entitled by God to be the authorities over women and children are going to abuse women and children. And it’s easy to call out the likes of John MacArthur or John Piper, who are famous for promoting these hierarchies.

But what about when progressive Christians get caught in scandals? Does that mean progressive Christians or ex-evangelicals are going too far in our critique of conservative evangelical theologies and ethics of hierarchy because we abuse people too?

When we carefully examine this week’s story about Tim Whitaker and The New Evangelicals, we’ll realize the problem isn’t that we’re going too far in our critique of hierarchy, but that we’re not going far enough. We’re not recognizing remnants of hierarchy in ourselves and our friends.

Who are Tim Whitaker and The New Evangelicals?

Whitaker, a former worship leader, began noticing in 2020 how conservative evangelicals were dismissing Black Lives Matter and minimizing the dangers of COVID. So he started an Instagram account called “The New Evangelicals” to document his journey deconstructing conservative evangelicalism. His critiques included evangelical threats of hell, the exclusion of LGBTQ people and male-dominated hierarchies in the church and home.

When his platform began to take off, he started a nonprofit, with a board for accountability, and a budget for fundraising.

According to a presentation Whitaker gave in December 2024, TNE had amassed 323,000 followers, behind only Relevant and Christianity Today in that segment of the religion market. According to Whitaker, they also had $206,000 in funding — an impressive start for a new organization.

In addition to his other successful podcast, Whitaker teamed with progressive Christian influencer April Ajoy for “The Tim and April Show,” which launched Feb. 21 and almost immediately shot up the charts. By March 15, they had reached the No. 4 spot in top shows for Apple Podcasts in the religion and spirituality category.

A shocking revelation

But then on Sunday night, news broke that Whitaker was the focus of an abuse of power investigation by GRACE. That report had been instigated by his own board of directors in response to a formal grievance filed.

Because Ajoy had become such a trusted figure among progressive Christians and ex-evangelicals, many people raised questions about what she knew. Did she sign on to the new show knowing Whitaker was under investigation from GRACE? That didn’t seem like something she would do. Or did TNE offer her the show without disclosing to her that Whitaker was under investigation? That would be quite an omission.

When asked on Monday about what she knew, Ajoy said: “I was made aware of the situation last night and am currently doing everything I can to fully understand what happened. For now, the show is on pause.”

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