Mike Winger
Mike Winger is an American evangelical theologian, Christian apologist, and YouTube personality. Operating through his ministry BibleThinker, Winger teaches biblical theology for lay audiences. He is known for publishing in-depth exposés of spiritual abuse and sexual misconduct in Christian circles, along with critiquing cults, progressive Christianity, and atheism.
Exposés
Brian Simmons and The Passion Translation
In September 2018, Winger ran a YouTube livestream titled My Concerns About The Passion Translation and Brian Simmons. In the video, Winger argues that Brian Simmons, lead translator of The Passion Translation, received a false vision to translate the Bible, with Jesus promising to give Simmons "secrets of the Hebrew language secrets of the Bible." Winger subsequently conducted interviews with a series of biblical scholars critiquing The Passion Translation, including Darrell Bock, Nijay Gupta, Douglas Moo, and Craig Blomberg. In January 2022, BibleGateway.com discontinued its license for The Passion Translation and delisted it from its website.Benny Hinn
In April 2024, Winger posted to YouTube a four-hour video titled The Victims of Benny Hinn: 30 Years of Spiritual Deception. Examining the ministry of prosperity gospel preacher Benny Hinn, Winger argues that over a period of several decades, Hinn regularly engaged in spiritual abuse, false prophecies, and donor manipulation. After the publication of the video, Benny Hinn Ministries filed a copyright infringement claim, which YouTube subsequently denied as invalid.Brandon Biggs
In July 2024, Winger ran a YouTube livestream titled The NEW and Dangerous False Prophet. In the video, Winger argues that charismatic preacher Brandon Biggs engaged in false prophesies, where Biggs attempts to connect one of these prophecies to the attempted assassination of [Donald Trump in Pennsylvania].Mical Turnbo
In May 2025, Winger posted to YouTube an hour-long video titled Vineyard Pastor and False Prophet: My Warning about Micah Turnbo. In the video, Winger argues that charismatic preacher Micah Turnbo engaged in false prophesies and false teachings.Michael L. Brown
In July 2025, Winger posted to YouTube a three-and-a-half hour video titled The Truth About Michael Brown's 23 Years of Cover-up. Sharing an interview he conducted with a ministry leader, Winger argues that charismatic Christian apologist Michael L. Brown engaged in sexual misconduct.Steve Koko
In September 2025, Winger posted to YouTube a four-and-a-half-hour video titled The Predator of Panama: Evangelist Steve Koko. Sharing victim allegations along with interviews he conducted with ministry leaders, Winger argues that charismatic preacher Steven Koko, operating throughout Latin America, recurrently engaged in spiritual, financial, and sexual abuse.Shawn Bolz
On January 17, 2026, Winger posted to YouTube an almost six-hour video titled The Skeletons in Bethel's Closet Are Now Going to Speak. In the video, Winger argues that charismatic preacher Shawn Bolz, platformed by Bethel Church , recurrently engaged in spiritual and sexual abuse. Having spoken to various leaders in the charismatic movement, Winger mentions that one leader told him, "Mike, if we really start calling out all the guys that we know are... defrauding the people of God... it would devastate our movement." Winger responds to this by urging charismatic leaders that reform must be carried out regardless.Spiritual abuse allegations
In a September 2016 Sid Roth newsletter, Bolz claims to have received a prophetic "upgrade" in 2013, the same year that Facebook Graph Search was released. Winger claims that personal details used by Bolz to confirm prophecies were discoverable on the Internet. In 2017, Bolz prophesies to a woman while using details of her mother, where after confirming her mother's birthday, Bolz gives the street address of a different woman living in the same region with the same name. When the address is denied, Bolz claims that "if I missed that part, it's not a big deal." Winger calls this "an incredible smoking gun—there is no way on earth that randomly got from the Lord a real address of that was the ." Winger also mentions an article written by Stewart James Felker, who alleges that in 2016, Bolz engaged in "hot reading," a technique used in stage magic and other contexts to gather information about a subject prior to conversing with them.Sexual abuse allegations
Winger states that he conducted separate, corroborating interviews of three of Bolz' former employees, where they allege that Bolz engaged in sexually abusive behavior between 2005 and the late 2010s. Winger also states that he "confirmed with multiple sources," along with receiving assurance from the witnesses that they were aware of "at least 12 victims." Winger claims that Bill Johnson and Bethel Church leadership knew about allegations against Bolz for "nearly five years, at least."Prior to getting married, Bolz ran a "Christian frathouse" in Los Angeles with approximately seven other men in their 20s, where he attempted to cultivate an environment of "always trying to get naked." This involved Bolz sending photos of his genitals to the flatters and talking about the size of his penis, in spite of him banning the use of pornography, confusing the flatters. On one occasion, Bolz asked one of the flatters to get his phone, where the flatter discovered gay pornography open on the phone. Confiding in another flat member, both flatters confronted Bolz, where he subsequently asserted that it was a joke, having deliberately looked up gay porn to "" with the flatter. A witness alleges that Bolz frequented a Korean spa in Los Angeles, where he would walk around naked, and sought the other flatters to join him. Winger states that Bolz had previously run another flat in Alabama with three men, where Winger was unable to access these individuals to interview.
Winger argues that Bolz engaged in sexual grooming, particularly in "trapped settings." One witness claims that he was warned prior to travelling with Bolz for the first time that " likes to be naked in the hotel room." Believing this to be a joke, within minutes of arriving, the witness experienced Bolz taking off all his clothes, proceeding to walk around naked. The witness informed Winger that he believes Bolz purposefully woke him up at 3:00 AM in the morning to witness Bolz masturbate. Around the same time, Bolz told the witness, "Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night jerking off." On one occasion, Bolz had become sexually aroused while naked in front of the witness, and beginning to wag his penis, asked him, "Why won't you look at it? Look at it." Bolz would proceed to accuse the witness of not engaging with him because of character issues, fears, and insecurities. While in London with the same witness, " the honeymoon suite." Due to the suite having a clear glass shower, the witness resorted to showering in his shorts. The following morning, Bolz asked the witness for permission to masturbate, and proceeded regardless, masturbating to orgasm. On another travel occasion, this progressed to Bolz masturbating to orgasm while naked on top of his bed every morning. Winger claims that this witness fell into "depression, trauma, suicidal ideation" as a result of the behavior. On one occasion, a witness demanded that Bolz go to the bathroom if he wanted to masturbate. Bolz replied by stating, "You go to the bathroom if you don't like it. I'm paying for the room and travel." One witness resorted to taking a video of Bolz masturbating, appealing to another male employee regarding the nature of the behavior. Bolz would also request massages while naked.
The employees claim that Bolz would attempt to justify his behavior by saying, "I'm a prophet, I need release," and that this was "normal stuff that between guys in locker rooms." Bolz would respond to those who confronted him by accusing them of being "religious," telling one witness that he had a "spirit of religion." Winger claims that this separate witness was driven to "suicidal ideation and eventually PTSD episodes." Winger also claims that the witness approached Bolz' board, Bethel leadership, and other individuals, who all refrained from taking action. Another witness, whom Bolz knew had suffered sexual abuse in the past, alleges that while in a car together, Bolz moved to the rear passenger seat and began to masturbate, carrying out the same behavior in hotel rooms. The same witness also claimed that Bolz "loved to and show it to everybody." Winger argues that Bolz' mentor, Paul Cain, engaged in similar behavior, where Cain would hire celibate, same-sex attracted male interns and proceed to groom them. Prior to his death, Cain had attempted to protect Bolz from accusations. With regard to issues surrounding lying, a witness claimed that Bolz was known for making "ridiculous exaggerations," where upon confrontation, Bolz would explain that he "just excited." The same witness also alleged that Bolz used funds outside their designated purposes, which led the witness to resign from his position. One witness claimed that as early as 2008, Bolz had been given the nickname "Shawn the Liar," where Winger points out that taking into consideration Bolz' reputation, he had been presented by Bill Johnson in 2016 as "one of our most trusted friends."