We should also not forget that power relations form church doctrine and what we observe reflects many of the cultural practices of the day. As long as people continue to gain meaning from this system, let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.

girlie

It seems that satan attacks and tempts most those who can have an impact on the destruction of his evil works. Before you judge as I did initially, remember the woman who was being stoned. David a “man after God’s own heart” had an affair with a married woman too and also had her husband killed, yet we are blessed by his Psalms even today.

I pray for Joan and the healing of her heart, and for the healing of the Miracle Channel to move to greater heights, for the “other hurt woman”, and for Dick himself as he repents for his sins and allows himself to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

I pray that we may rise up and smite those who do not worship jesus from the earth and their blood will flow like a river.
Glory to god amen.

(2) Having supported this ministry with tithes, offerings, prayers and faithful viewing for years, we now withdraw our support, as will most likely many others. This can’t be good for the future of this tremendous global outreach.

(3) Sin is sin, and any sin can be repented of. Jim Bakker repented and went on and so did Jimmy Swaggart. I believe in my heart so will Dick Dewart. My husband and I pray for their marriage to be restored and that Dick Dewart will break off his adulterous relationship with this “other woman” whoever she is.

(4) This was an ideal set-up by Satan to take this ministry away from its founders. While I’m disappointed in what Dick Dewart has done, I’m more concerned about what is going to be done by those who will try to take his place in order to keep The Miracle Channel going. Again, I believe what God told me… there is more here than meets the eye.

And thank you for the link, I see you are listed as a none-profit journalist.
Tough road.

I’ve done religious programming. I’m not proud of it, don’t care to talk about it, not going to justify it. I learned my lessons. Hopefully because of the grace of God, I can help others learn theirs.

Do me a favour?
Tell your wife I respect her desicion to be a responsible parent. I applaud her.
Please tell her to keep your money, spend it tangibly on the kids, or give it to your local food bank. The Miracle Channel is not Pentecostal, it’s word-faith, and it’s a bloody licence to print money.
They are not hurting, the people they have ripped off in God’s name are.

The CRTC has given a charitable licence, as archaic as they are, we cannot fall into the trap of thinking the Cdn government pokes it’s nose into religion in this country. It does not. It takes a lot before they’ll act.

Because The Miracle Channel has been given a religious exemption, accountability is our responsibility.
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/cps/cps-022-e.html#P162_15960

CTS, The Vision Channel, EWTN. It was coming, the entreprenuers of the religious world merely gave it the push. As you wisely say, it does not mean they deserve to stay and play.

And let’s not repeat the lie Dewart did this on his own. That’s his delusion, not yours. He had plenty of help, and the boys were very well paid on both sides of the border. Please, tell your wife to be at peace, they don’t need her gifts, gratitude or sacrifice.

In Pentecostal circles, there’s some hype, flakeyness, and perhaps misused attitudes towards spiritual principles like sowing and reaping, tithing, etc. There may have been some of that at the Miracle Channel, yet nothing so blatant as the comment made by one U.S. leader some years back: “The Lord said if I don’t raise a million dollars I’ll meet my Maker.”

When your spiritual reality fails, hype sometimes rises to fill the void. At a Miracle Channel conference a year ago, I noticed how Dick Dewart ALWAYS said, “I just feel we should sing that song again.” It got annoyingly predictable. The last time he felt so led, he couldn’t get a single thing done because the worship team had already left. So much for ‘leading’!

I don’t feel particularly shattered at this time. The most ‘anointed’ of people are full of imperfections and succeptible to moral failures. Often those bent on building ministry are most vulnerable because the devil’s after them AND because they lose their intimacy with God (and their spouse). They can also get the illusion of immunity because they’ve been Christians for so long.

After their moral failure, the rationalizations on why they should continue on in ministry keep going. However, Jesus’ words hold true: “There is nothing hidden that will not be brought out in the open.” For some, judgment day comes early. And for the Dewarts, this inevitable but painful time will be the beginning of recovery and restoration.

Now for some credit. Dick Dewart DID have to pioneer and break ground (and CRTC regulations) to get his channel going. They never allowed all-Christian channels, so Dewart put up a pirate TV channel and shamed the CRTC out of their discriminatory policy. He was a leader of tenacity and vision and he got the job done. But, in the words of Phil Collins, “Something happened on the way to heaven.”

My wife and I agreed to make a significant donation to the channel a few months ago. I asked her if she regretted the decision and she did not. She still appreciates the children’s programming and other stuff on there. For us who gave, God is our reward. But I do hope that the channel will continue on and rise to even greater heights.