Mega-ministries fall on hard times at Bene Diction Blogs On

Mega-ministries fall on hard times

I mentioned in a post below Focus on the Family Colorado is in it’s third year of layoffs, mostly because of the economic upheaval and market forces.

Now Oral Roberts University, which received a 70 million dollar bailout from a private businessman after it’s latest scandal is laying off 100 employees - 10% of it’s workforce. The university employs about 950 people.

Former President Richard Roberts, son of founder Oral Roberts was forced to resign and will keep getting his salary of 223,600.00 until the end of his contract in 2009. The school is nearly 18 million dollars in debt even with the cash infusion. Two lawsuits by former professors were settled confidentially, another professor settled and returned to work. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education Richard Roberts as former President of ORU received the highest salary and compensation of a private university leader in the state.

“These are tough economic times for us all,” Interim President Ralph Fagin said in a news release. “Like any business, a university cannot spend more revenue than it collects. We have a responsibility to the ORU family to be good stewards of our resources.”

Employees who will lose their jobs will be notified in January and then will remain on the payroll for 60 days. The university will offer job placement support.

ORU’s spokesman Jeremy Burton said the university hadn’t determined which positions to eliminate. ORU employs more than 950 people, he said.

ORU has spent an undisclosed amount recently to deal with the aftermath of lawsuits and scandal that began last October.

prior posts - ORU

A mega church in Florida called Without Walls International is going down. The husband/wife team of Paula and Randy White divorced in 2007. They once had 23 thousand attendees, and now face foreclosure owing 12 million dollars on two properties. Randy White blames the devil and has vowed to fight. That may be difficult. His lavish spending and church debt aside, the organization which instigated the proceeding is not known for ruthlessness and had stated it had done everything possible to negotiate. His Lakeland church was bought from Karl Strader, an Assemblies of God minister whose one son is in prison for 45 years for fraud. Another son Stephen runs Ignited Fire, and was responsible for the ‘Lakeland’ revival which saw Canadian Todd Bentley and GodTV team up until the ‘revival’ was exposed and it crashed.

prior posts - Without Walls International

Sheriff deputies in Georgia showed up at Global Destiny Ministies in Duluth showed up and ordered Bishop Thomas Weeks II off the property. He divorced his wife Juanita Bynum who is also a charismatic/health/wealth preacher in June. Weeks ministry owes $511,000 in back rent to the property owners.

Cathedral at Chapel Hill in Atlanta is for sale. The church used to boost a membership of 10 thousand, the building and property has been assessed at about 24 million and the church has a 6 thousand seat sanctuary. Earl Paulk Sr. was involved in a major sex scandals. It was revealed the current family preacher, Donny Paulk was not Paulk Sr.’s nephew as people had been lead to believe, but his son by Paulk Sr.’s wife.

prior post

Without Walls International was one of the six ministries named in the Grassley Senate Finance Committee for possible financial misconduct. (07/07/08. pdf)

What do these churches/ministries have in common?

they are subject to market conditions
they revolve around a personality (often called a cult of personality)
operate independently (not under denominational accountability)
scorn financial transparency groups set up to help church seekers
demand membership adhere to unorthodox practises (extra giving, unquestioning obedience, loyalty etc) and adjust doctrine to suit leadership
leadership avoids solid academic credentials
surround leaders with cronies
if involved in politics practise dominionism or a variant
adhere to a consumerist church attitude
attack critics and criticism

The Prosperity Gospel - (Word/Faith) teachings, doctrine, practises

Published 1 month, 3 weeks ago

7 Responses to “Mega-ministries fall on hard times”

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1 Dr. Prole on Nov 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am

Is schadenfreude a mortal sin? Because I may likely burn…
2 Chrystal Ocean on Nov 19th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

What wonderful news!
3 Bene Diction on Nov 19th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

If it is I’ll be burning along with you Dr. Prole…;^)
4 Torontonian on Nov 19th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

Schadenfreude does not apply to all those persons
who so faithfully listened to and contributed to these
enterprises. Some of them must be greatly crushed–
bereaved almost–when the end came to their favourite
ministry.

Some of these people have little else in their life except
these ministries. And now they’re gone. And these people
are now even more vulnerable. They’re rendered
vulnerable much like those after a hurricane or
large scale fire such as in Los Angeles area currently.

These displacements are going through the Christian
right and the Republican party and the dislocation
will be felt in the land [US] for a decade, at least.

So, how do others take in these people and comfort them
and bring them to restoration and healing? How do
laws get to the perpetrators and bring them to justice?

The challenge is only beginning.
5 Monk-in-Training on Nov 20th, 2008 at 3:31 am

There is a season for every thing.

Perhaps the season of sitting in pews being entertained by feeding ’sinners’ to the ‘lions’ of judgment, worship by fog machine and laser light, and vast expensive campuses are beginning to yield to the reality of simpler faith in the One Who Serves with wounded Hands…

† lumen Christi
6 Bene Diction on Nov 20th, 2008 at 5:49 am

I agree Torontonian: Schadenfreude is not wasted on the structures and leaders, nor held for individuals.

Any of us who have lost a job know the emotional and psychological impact. Anyone let go, or who sees what they’ve known crumble is understandably not exempt from the impact of loss, and spiritualizing isn’t going to keep a roof over ones head, food on the table, clothes on the kids and relationships glued together.

I think there are churches, groups and walkaways available to help, individuals and groups are prepared or preparing; they just don’t make noise about their roles, people and groups of people who have walked in the wilderness and seen the writing on the wall. They may not look like what former employees and pew sitters think they ’should.’:^)

Monk-in-training is correct there are seasons, and this is not going to be a brief one.

I am not optimistic the law has time or the will to bring perpetrators to justice, that desire may have to be let go.

I’m not going to pretend to understand what loss looks like to people who have been raised to believe they are supposed to be (and entitled to be) safe and comfortable in their subculture of ‘ministry.’

It’s estimated giving revenues for US churches will be down 5 to 15% over the next year. I don’t believe that estimate factors in the peripheral groups mentioned in the post.
7 Kate on Dec 2nd, 2008 at 5:28 am

These ‘Ministries’ force the sheep to have to defend themselves ie set up blogs and make cases that if God blesses, gets pastors and lay members informed and able to protect themselves (blog site owners need to be careful too as we are not perfect and we need Gods grace too in hefty qauntity).
God TV is one example; they have no regard for sheep except where it refers to their support prayer and finances neither which they do in a normal sheep nurturing wave.
Paula and Randy White, jaunita Bynum (I had no idea till I saw it for myself on youtube) Creflo dollar, Kenneth Copeland, each make the flock vulnerable to fleecing with no benefit.
although i am not a giver, whenever I have given, God has blessed me,
This is most unexpected as the ministries seemed impenetrable to any criticism or any sense of accountability. Therefore I enjoy the schaedenfreude. These ‘ministries’ if they had been open and transparaent and open to correction perhaps they might not been in present position now.