whosaid · a sermon audit project

Sermon Audits

A structured audit of modern American sermons measured against four independent axes: fidelity to Jesus's teachings in the Gospels, bias-bearing or harmful rhetoric, factual accuracy of empirical claims, and whole-Bible engagement (cherry-picking and unacknowledged canonical tension).

Source & methodology: github.com/chicks/whosaid

This is a methodology experiment.

Cross-sermon comparisons

End-times comparison →

Eight pastors on the same topic (end times / eschatology). Scorecard matrix with reach stats, CN-marker matrix, per-axis drill-downs, factual-claim verdict distribution.

3-way severe-tier calibration →

Side-by-side calibration of the three sermons that came back severe on Axis 2 (Hibbs, Hagee, Howerton). Marker-by-marker comparison with supporting quotes; reach-weighted severity ranking.

Longitudinal: John Hagee, 2018 → 2025 →

Pre-COVID vs. post-Oct-7. Both sermons severe on Axes 2 & 4. CN markers doubled from 4/8 to 8/8 — new categories appearing: dominionism, civil religion, ethno-cultural undertones, strongman-affinity. The eschatology was always severe; the political-authoritarian framing is what escalated.

Longitudinal: Greg Locke, 2020 → 2026 →

Same pastor, same topic (end-times), 5.8 years apart. Axis-severity deltas, CN-marker deltas, headline-quote comparison. Key finding: content-tone on end-times preaching shows relative stability; the real transformation is channel reach (~5,500× growth).

End-times sermons (8)

Sorted by aggregate severity across the four axes. Click a sermon title to open the full audit report.

PastorSermonReach A1 JesusA2 Bias/HarmA3 FactsA4 Whole Bible
Pastor John Hagee
Cornerstone Church
Pastor John Hagee - "The End of Days" 497K views
~22K/wk
severe severe
Severe xenophobic and anti-Muslim framing paired with authoritarian political di
moderate severe
Pastor Jack Hibbs
Calvary Chapel Chino Hills
The Stage Is Being Set For The End Times! 809K views
~10K/wk
severe severe
Severe anti-Muslim and political-enemy rhetoric
moderate severe
Pastor Josh Howerton
Lakepointe Church
When Will Jesus Return? 4 Predictions About the End Times 153K views
~26K/wk
moderate severe
Severe anti-Muslim eschatology
moderate severe
Dr. Robert Jeffress
First Baptist Dallas
LIVE: "Are We Living In The End Times?:What Are The Major Events Of Th 16K views
~16K/wk
moderate moderate
Moderate — specific-group rhetorical use + civil religion adjacency
moderate severe
Pastor Greg Locke
Global Vision Bible Church
Last Days, Last Call: God’s Instructions to the Church 2.2K views
~3.5K/wk
moderate moderate
Low-moderate; mostly jeremiad register
moderate moderate
Pastor Steven Furtick
Elevation Church
What Comes After | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church 732K views
~28K/wk
moderate low
Largely absent
moderate moderate
Pastor John MacArthur
Grace Community Church
The New Heaven and the New Earth, Part 1 (Revelation 21:1–3) John MacA 8.0K views
~8.0K/wk
moderate low
Largely absent
moderate moderate
Bishop T.D. Jakes
The Potter's House
The King is Coming - Bishop T.D. Jakes | The Pacemaker Series 461K views
~30K/wk
low moderate
Moderate — supersessionism and gendered framing
low moderate

Other sermons (non-end-times, reference)

Earlier audits on different topics, kept for reference. Not part of the focused end-times comparison.

PastorSermonAxis 2
Pastor Douglas Wilson
Christ Church (speaking at Pentagon prayer meeting convened by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth)
Remarks at the Pentagon Prayer Meeting severe — Severe Christian nationalism in its high-church form
Bishop T.D. Jakes
The Potter's House
Sticks & Stones - Bishop T.D. Jakes low — Largely absent
Pastor Steven Furtick
Elevation Church
It Still Works | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church low — Largely absent
Dr. Robert Jeffress
First Baptist Dallas
Genesis: Retracing Our Spiritual Roots | Dr. Robert Jeffress | Ap moderate — Moderate — jeremiad and contempt rhetoric; no identifiable-g
Pastor Douglas Wilson
Christ Church
Coming of Age and Life Between the Sexes #2 | Douglas Wilson moderate — Moderate misogynistic framing; patriarchal essentialism as d

Methodology

Each sermon is audited along four axes:

What each axis score means

Low (low) — Few findings or isolated tensions; sermon is largely aligned on this axis.
Moderate (moderate) — Multiple substantive findings, or a directional concern without extreme content.
Severe (severe) — Content with significant reach × specificity × harm potential; high-confidence assertions targeting identifiable groups or populations.

Evidence-first format

Every flagged finding includes the pastor's direct quote with a timestamp, and the specific biblical passages it sits against. Contrast is two-panel (Axis 1: Pastor | Jesus) or three-panel (Axis 4: Pastor | Jesus | Wider Bible). The audit's credibility depends on the evidence doing the work, not the auditor's prose.