AG System Failure: Accountability Not Found.
Maybe the Problem In The Assemblies of God Isn't a Glitch. Maybe It's the System.
Nearly four years of unanswered questions, unpublished investigations, and carefully crafted statements. More pastors and members are speaking up, asking why accountability seems impossible to find. Is the Assemblies of God system broken, or have we made protecting the institution more important than protecting its people? And what might God be doing in the Church as a whole?
By Ron Bloomingkemper, Jr. | October 25, 2026
Someone recently sent me a screenshot from a private Facebook group. An Assemblies of God minister was asking some pretty serious questions about what they've witnessed since entering ministry a few years ago.
Rampant abuse cases.
Lack of transparency and accountability.
Little meaningful spiritual formation for ministers.
Unhealthy ministry cultures within districts and across the fellowship.
They said there was more. A lot more.
Then they asked where they could find help addressing all this nonsense.
Some encouraged him by speaking up. Others responded in ways that made me wonder how someone could spend a decade or two in ministry and have no working knowledge of the Bible.
If you are wondering, yes, Matthew 18 was invoked as a suggestion.
God help whoever has to sit under their teaching.
But here's what encouraged me.
More and more pastors and AG members are finally asking the questions we've been asking for almost four years.
And those courageous pastors, parents, and advocates speaking out are not alone.
How do I know people are waking up?
In the last 28 days, XA & The Lions Den Facebook page has received over 1.4 MILLION views, up 274%. Below are the views from just a few of our top stories. The word is getting out, and it's because of you.
This thing reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. An army didn't expose the great and powerful Oz. A little dog pulled back the curtain.
Well, the curtain is coming down, and people are finally seeing who's been pulling the levers.
XA and the Lions Den Facebook page. View Here>
And thanks to you, our little advocacy page now has more followers than Doug Clay's personal Facebook profile has friends.
A new milestone in followers for the XA & The Lions Den Facebook page.
The ninety-five questions that were never answered
Almost four years ago, we sent Chi Alpha and Assemblies of God leadership a list of questions about the sexual and spiritual abuse scandal unfolding in their ministries.
Our own Martin Luther moment came nearly four years ago when we publicly presented 95 questions to Chi Alpha and Assemblies of God leadership, later covered by The Roy’s Report.
You can read the original 95 Questions here.
We're still waiting for answers.
October 31st, 2023. 95 Questions To Chi Alpha & Assemblies of God Demanding Accountability
Three years later, we're still standing on the porch. We’ve had enough.
ENOUGH.
Doug Clay publicly characterized the Chi Alpha sexual abuse scandal as a "hiccup." More than three years later, we're still waiting for a public apology for those words.
ENOUGH.
Survivors have waited. Parents have waited. Faithful pastors have waited.
And what do we get? More carefully polished statements that sound like they came from a Fortune 500 company's public relations department.
Lots of words. Very few answers.
ENOUGH.
At this point, I have to wonder who's actually running the Assemblies of God.
The shepherds? The lawyers? The insurance companies?
Because from where I'm sitting, it looks increasingly like protecting the brand has become more important than protecting the sheep.
ENOUGH.
We've asked for independent investigations, publish the findings, and meaningful accountability. Instead, we keep getting assurances from the same leadership structure we're asking to examine.
That's like asking the fox to investigate why the chicken coop is empty.
And then letting him write the report.
ENOUGH.
And what about the system that puts national leaders in office?
How many leaders first entered their positions through internal appointments or succession before facing a broader vote? How much real choice does the fellowship have?
Those are questions worth examining, especially when the same leadership culture is expected to fix the problems it failed to recognize or address.
You cannot repair a broken system by refusing to examine how it works.
Now, let me say something to the thousands of faithful pastors, missionaries, ministers, and members who genuinely love the Assemblies of God.
“Asking questions should not make you the enemy. This fellowship is bigger than the people sitting in Springfield.”
You've invested your lives,
your reputations,
your families,
and your ministries into this fellowship.
You deserve answers.
With roughly 12,651 US Assemblies of God churches, 38,387 AG ministers, 3,102,546 US AG adherents, and 88,866,189 worldwide members, imagine what would happen if this fellowship began demanding biblical accountability.
It’s time, guys.
Open the books.
Release the investigations.
Answer the questions.
Bring in truly independent investigators.
Examine the leadership structure.
Elect leaders committed to transparency and to tell the truth, even when it's uncomfortable.
Stop telling people to trust the system while refusing to show them how it works.
And here's something else we've been tracking on our XA Lions Den Website.
OVER 1,000 DAYS. STILL NO PUBLIC INVESTIGATION REPORTS.
We are demanding full transparency campaign: The Grossly Negligent Retirement Tour
We've literally been counting the days since the Assemblies of God and Chi Alpha promised investigations into the sexual and spiritual abuse scandals.
Especially in South Texas, where District Superintendent Tim Barker told us there was a third-party investigation. We later learned that the attorney involved was also representing the district in the John Doe 1 and 2 civil lawsuits.
How independent is an investigation when the investigator is also defending the institution?
So we decided to have a little fun with what I call Creative Accountability, using satire, design, and a running clock to remind leadership that these questions aren't going away.
Hence, our Grossly Negligent Retirement Tour.
The clock keeps ticking. The reports remain unpublished.
But before anyone thinks I'm just picking on the Assemblies of God, spend a little time reading The Roy’s Report.
Roy’s Report Website: Restoring the Truth. Restoring the Church.
We are talking about major spiritual, sexual, and financial abuse scandals in the Baptist, Methodist, Church of Christ, Vineyard, Independent, Nondenominational, and yes, the Assemblies of God.
Different names on the buildings. Different logos on the stationery. Many of the same problems.
Maybe this isn't just a denominational crisis. Maybe it's a crisis of spiritual maturity. It’s why I keep asking, “Where are the adults?”
Which raises a question I've been wrestling with.
“Are we trying to reform a denomination, or is God trying to reform our hearts?”
Have we made idols out of our institutions?
Our credentials?
Our favorite preachers?
Our ministries?
Have we confused loyalty to an organization with loyalty to Jesus Christ?
In some corners of the Church, the fear of man is so thick you can smell it. Like somebody dumped an entire bottle of Drakkar Noir in a church bathroom in 1987.
Everybody smells it. Nobody wants to talk about it.
Proverbs 29:25 says the fear of man brings a snare.
Some of us have been sitting in that trap so long we've started decorating it.
ENOUGH.
Now here's what genuinely excites me.
I believe we're living in a fascinating season in the body of Christ. Things hidden for years are coming into the light.
And maybe that's mercy.
We tend to think revival looks like packed altars, powerful worship, and another conference where everybody leaves feeling wonderful.
But real revival looks like repentance. Restarting someone’s heart is not pretty to watch.
Sometimes it looks like restitution. Confession. Opening the books. Telling the truth. Leaders stepping aside.
We have this saying in our group, “If you can’t turn in the keys and walk away, it’s not God’s; it’s your kingdom.”
Sometimes revival looks like God cleaning house.
And you know what?
When God starts cleaning the house, maybe it's because company is coming over.
Jesus told the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 exactly what He thought of their spiritual condition. He didn't seem particularly impressed with their reputations.
And Peter reminds us that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17).
Maybe this is the dirty side of revival nobody wants printed on the conference brochure.
But I'd rather have a clean house than an impressive sign out front.
So let me ask you something.
What has God been saying to YOU about the Church and the season we're living in?
Maybe it's a warning.
Maybe it's encouragement.
Maybe it's a Scripture you can't shake.
Something from last week or something you've been carrying for the past four years.
I'd love to hear it.
Not another sermon from your favorite celebrity preacher. What have you personally been wrestling with before God?
Post comments below, or come hang out with us and share it on our XA Lions Den Facebook Page. Let's encourage one another, examine our own hearts, and test what we're hearing against Scripture.
One reason this page exists is to give pastors, ministers, survivors, and members a place to talk without someone controlling the conversation.
Because at the end of the day, the Church doesn't belong to Springfield, a district superintendent, an attorney, or an insurance company.
It belongs to Jesus Christ.
And maybe the biggest system failure isn't that we've forgotten how accountability works.
Maybe we've forgotten WHO we're accountable to.
IT'S TIME.
ENOUGH
