It’s not as though Joel Webbon is short on enemies, but he’s also not short on people who would use his platform for their own ambitions. This is the nature of business and advertisement. As niche audiences grow and expand, a number of businesses try to cash in on their audiences.
Christianity (and also patriotism) has often been used as a value proposition for businesses, a practice I have long opposed. But indeed, there are a number of private-label products that market to a Christian audience. I will throw Wasson Watches under the bus as an example of this, which wanted to be the brand name for a specific audience. They are especially egregious because they are vastly overpriced Chinese goods.
Additionally, they’re are a number of wannabe entrepreneurs who set out to start and launch businesses that tackle common problems, printing presses, schools, and even dating websites. In this story, the latter two were done by the same guy!
A couple of ad reads by Webbon were so bizarre that they set off the alarms for his haters, who then dug into the companies.
The first is Covenant Match:
This website advertised operating a parental matchmaking serviced launching in America but suspiciously wanting to expand to Mexico and the Philippines. Passport bros might be able to rejoice if they could understand the process, but the website doesn’t have an FAQ or any clear explanation for how it works.
To make matters worse, they put up fake testimonials with allusions to false teachers like Rachel Held Evans. No testimonials are better than fake ones.
On paper, this Covenant Match is a startup using modern innovations to return to traditional matchmaking, and this is a charitable read. At worst, it was an elaborate ruse.
The second is St. Johns Academy:
This school was boasting of building multiple 5 acre campuses by the middle of 2026 in Texas. The ad reads consisted of a refundable deposit to hold a slot and assess interest. But the school itself is a pipedream. Boasting $200k salaries, 9-hour school days, a longer school year, and weekend homework schedules, this school sounds like hell for any child. There is no way that this is academically efficient. Nevertheless, Webbon read the unscrupulous ads.
Joel Webbon states in reference to St. John’s Academy:
Regarding St. John’s Academy, the website clearly says that the school plans to launch in mid-2026, and registering individuals is the method for gauging the interest in each of the different future campuses as preparations are made to begin construction.
It cost nothing to sign up to express interest. To reserve a slot for the school costs $100. If anyone spent money reserving a slot, and the school did not end up launching at the time of its stated goal, the $100 would absolutely be refunded. That said…
No one reserved a slot.
No one has paid a dime.
Zero people have been defrauded.
The idea that either of these endeavors are aimed at stealing credit card or registration information is ridiculous and short sighted. In an age where any credit card charges can be easily disputed and removed, any such scam would fail to even return the money spent on advertising.
Furthermore, Right Response was willing to air these advertisements because a member of our team knows the founder of both businesses personally, and has absolute confidence that he is a solid Christian man who would never defraud anyone.
Joel Webbon might have been doing business with a Christian, but that doesn’t mean that this guy was a serious entrepreneur. The records of the LLC suggest a college dorm is the business address. College is not the best place to learn how to start a business (I know from experience), and a lot of bad business notions are taught.
Moreover, a lot of businesses are being formed by Christians right now, but that doesn’t mean that the entrepreneurs know what they’re doing. I speak with a lot of experience, as the only entrepreneur in my class of entrepreneurs that, as far as I know, lives off of their own businesses. A lot of these people are pie in the sky with no feet on the ground. Some are all talk and never walk. The popular YouTuber, Caleb Hammer, just had one of these people on his show because he was in heavy debt.
Joel Webbon relied on the vetting of others for this ad campaign which appears to be a courtesy for a friend of a friend. And this lack of vetting led to his Ron Burgandy moment. As JD Hall puts it:
Polemics Santa hates being out of the loop when there’s a good kerfuffle, brouhaha, hullabaloo, fracas, or tizzie going on. And not knowing what the ‘Right Response Ad Controversy of 2025’ was about, I figured I’d just call Webbon and ask.
It was either that or read about it from Neil Shenvi tweets, so I sprang for the former.
The gist is, as a favor to a friend and close associate, Webbon cut an ad for a not-yet-ready-to-launch pipe dream that was well-intentioned but ill-advised. Webbon considered his friends’ vouching to be sufficient to cut the ad as a favor. It turns out, the aforementioned ‘vouching’ wasn’t for the product, so much as the individual (IE, he’s a sweet guy).
Well, it turns out the ‘sweet guy’ has a few issues (read between my lines), the inability to discern fact from fiction he *wished* was true. I’m trying to characterize this in a Christian manner, considering the aformentioned issues.
Nobody’s credit card was charged (or collected) and Webbon and his friend and the gentleman had a good powow about maybe having one more foot in reality. So, at the end of the day it’s a good lesson for Christian influencers to strongly vet the favors they do for others, or things they advertise.
This lesson has to be learned in the private sector every day – especially for “influencers” – because things like this can happen and they’re embarrassing. Doing a favor for your friend is one thing, but when you start doing favors for friends’ friends it can get sticky fast.
In any event, Webbon isn’t real keen on throwing a guy with such issues (ahem) under the bus and is being kind to him, all things considered. And I’m willing to bet a Stanley Nickle that it’ll be a while before they do another favor in the form of an advertisement.
It is a classy move for Joel Webbon not to throw this guy under the bus, or the other people who did nothing to stop the ad read. However, this is an issue, all aspiring media businesses on the right have to contend with. This entrepreneur attempted to simultaneously blitzscale two businesses before either of them had their ducks in a row, using Joel Webbon’s massive platform to do it. (If the university part is true about this story, then this tactic is probably all the rage in business programs.)
Evangelical Dark Web has had to deal with an advertiser folding up shop (they did ads with Right Response as well). The business of media and online ministries is two separate spheres. So while Webbon was unwise to take these ad reads, business matters should be judged as business matters, and spiritual matters should be judged as spiritual matters.
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Arranged marriages are evil and un-christian.
Marriages are supposed to be based on mutual love between the husband and wife. That is God’s Will.
Marriages are NOT supposed to be based on the parents’ wishes, or monetary gain, or political alliances, etc.
The entire concept of arranged marriages is evil and contrary to Christ’s Will.
I am sick and tired of grifting “Christians” such as the company mentioned in your article which arranges marriages, claiming that what they do is “biblically based.”
Modern “Christian” leaders, influencers, scholars, and businesses are masters of twisting and perverting the meaning of Scripture.
If being manipulative and deceitful was an Olympic sport, today’s sanctimonious “Christian” leaders/influencers would be gold medalists.
All the liars and traitors and manipulators go around loudly proclaiming that their grifts are “biblical”.
The traitorous and evil “christian” zionists and “judeo-christians” claim that their worship of jews and earthly imposter “israel” is “biblical.”
The corrupt mega-church pastors claim that their authoritarian rule over their churches, their abuses of power, and their persecution of righteous congregants who want accountability, is “biblical.”
The mega-church leaders claim that demanding money from their congregants so the mega-churches can build massive auditoriums, gyms, swimming pools, etc is “biblical.”
Anytime I encounter a “Christian” leader/influencer claiming that their views are “biblical”, I automatically assume that person is LYING.
In the heavily corrupted culture of modern “Christianity”, the word “biblical” has the same credibility as a ghetto thug claiming “I didn’t do nuthin” or a pedophile claiming “I didn’t know how old she was” when the police arrest him.
It is noteworthy that the charlatans who screech the loudest about what is or isn’t “biblical”, tend to have the lowest moral character.
Scum such as Mike Bickle, Robert Morris, etc are huge self-appointed arbiters of what is “biblical.”
The traitors, grifters, tinpot mega-church dictators, and various other sleazy leaders of modern mainstream “Christianity” have WEAPONIZED the word “biblical” to falsely claim divine endorsement for their evil treason and degeneracy.
Whenever a “Christian” leader/influencer goes around spewing the word “biblical” and sanctimoniously telling everyone what is “biblical”, that is a big indicator that the person is a LIAR and a FALSE TEACHER.
These modern-day pharisees are extremely skilled at manipulating, twisting, and perverting the meaning of Scripture to serve their wicked goals.
Just like the ancient pharisees did.
The ancient pharisees constantly went around manipulatively and deceitfully quoting Scripture to justify their evil actions.
Exactly like the “Christian” leaders and influencers of today. No matter what they do, they are always quick to find a Bible passage to justify their actions and condemn anyone who opposes them.
Real Christians should keep in mind that Jesus didn’t go around hectoring and bloviating about what was “biblical.”
When the pharisees (and the devil) tried to entrap Jesus by manipulating and twisting Scripture, Jesus quickly refuted and rebuked them and shut them down.
Jesus was an expert on Scripture. But Jesus never went around sanctimoniously and condescendingly lecturing everyone on what was “biblical.”
And Jesus didn’t go around citing Scriptural passages to justify everything He did.
Christians should remember that, and should seek to be like Jesus, instead of emulating the pharisees who were quick to twist Scripture to justify their actions.
Remember that evil manipulators twist the meaning and intent of Scripture, in order to abuse and exploit and take advantage of people.
Real Christians don’t need to be constantly pointing out which Bible verse justifies their actions.
Just focus on following Jesus Christ, following the Holy Spirit’s Guidance, and being a good person.