Recently, Sarah Young of checkmychurch.org contacted me looking for dirt on one of our Whitefield graduates. When I took a closer look at her so-called “discernment ministry,” it became clear: this is not discernment. It’s bitterness, gossip, and false teaching masquerading as watchfulness.
From Frustration to “Discernment”
By her own admission, Check My Church began out of disillusionment and church-hopping:
We started Check My Church as a church review blog in 2019 that was mostly focused on my personal opinions of local churches, but as I continue to learn and grow in this journey, my reports have developed into more informative and thorough investigative reports. Over the past four years, we have worked and continue to work to become experts in discerning the truth and investigating churches in multiple ways, and as we continue, we hope our knowledge helps protect the Body of Christ from wolves in sheep's clothing.
and
In our frustration with many Christian churches in our community, my husband Joe and I wondered why no one has created a Church Review website where people could look up their church and find out everything there is to know, including red flags of practices and behaviors we wanted to avoid. We could've used one in all our years of church hopping. We were tired and frustrated with being deceived only to find the truth after wasting days and sometimes weeks at a church, and curious about how many other Christians found themselves in the same boat. Moving back to our home church in Salt Lake City, Utah relieved all the stressful church hopping on our end, but when our friend and brother in Christ, Shawn McCraney of cult.love, came up with the same idea, we knew it had to be a good one. So, here we are, church checkers. Checking every church, so you don't have to.
Not a biblical foundation. Just frustration and personal opinion.
The Man They Endorse
Even worse, Check My Church openly endorses Shawn McCraney—a man rejected as a heretic by faithful churches in Utah for good reason. Why? Because he:
Denies the Trinity (rejecting the historic, orthodox confession of one God in three persons).
Denies the future return of Christ, teaching instead that all prophecy has already been fulfilled.
Undermines Sola Scriptura, calling it flawed and divisive.
And he monetizes it. You can buy his “courses” attacking the authority of Scripture and denying the central hope of the Christian faith.
This is the man Check My Church promotes as a faithful teacher.
The Smoking Gun: Their Own FAQ
Here is Check My Church in their own words, defending McCraney:
While CMC refuses to pick sides one way or the other when it comes to the Trinity argument or Eschatological issues, since they aren't essential to the faith, we stand firm in our positions regarding legalism in the Christian church. We reject mandated tithing or giving, membership laws and covenants, and any other legalistic practice.
Second, none of Shawn McCraney's controversial doctrinal positions are in fact salvation issues. And those that may be are easily defensible.
Stop and think about that. According to Sarah Young’s “discernment” ministry, the Second Coming of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity are not “essential to the faith.” That is not biblical discernment—it is heresy excusing heresy.
Wolves Pretending to Guard the Flock
The irony could not be greater. A site that boasts of guarding Christians from wolves in sheep’s clothing is in fact defending a man who rejects the very core of Christian orthodoxy. Rather than contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3), they work to erode it.
CheckMyChurch does not protect the flock. By dismissing the Trinity and the Second Coming as “non-essential,” they have set themselves in opposition to the gospel of Christ and the historic witness of the church.
The only sure standard of truth is the Word of God—not the disillusioned opinions of restless church-hoppers. Test all things by Scripture. Do not be deceived.
Thank you, Mr. Bradfield! Very helpful.