Religious Dispatcheshas an interesting angle to The Joel and Victoria Osteen show in New York April 25th.
None of these media outlets noted that this event is being carried throughout the world via Trinity Broadcasting Network’s (TBN) thirty-three international satellites. (For an overview of the controversies surrounding TBN, check out this 2004 article from the Los Angeles Times titled, “TBN’s Promise: Send Money and See Riches.†Given the amount of money TBN will be making from this broadcast, one has to wonder why they charged a $15.00 admission fee and then passed the bucket to solicit additional donations “to support future events like this one.†(Billy Graham’s NYC Crusades held in 2005 were free for all too attend with a free will offering for those who wanted to contribute.)
Then there’s the not so itty-bitty problem with their charity of choice. Feed the Children sounds like a noble gesture (though naming a facility “The Victoria Osteen Abandoned Baby Center†is just downright creepy.) But this charity has consistently received an F grade from the American Institute of Philanthropy for low program spending and high fundraising costs.
Feed the Children’s F rating is quite the read. Why pick this charity when there are so many willing to operate ethically and openly? Charity Navigator gives Feed the Children 3 out of 5 stars. In comparison to other charities which fall under the same functions, it has the lowest efficiency rating. The infighting and power grabs may have something to do with it.
Oklahoma news reported on Friday that:
 About 100 employees of Oklahoma City-based charity Feed The Children have signed a “no confidence” petition asking directors and executives reinstated by a judge to quit.
The charity’s founder and president, Larry Jones, is embroiled in a legal struggle with five of the reinstated directors and four executives.
The directors sued and asked Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish to reinstate them after claiming they were unlawfully replaced in December by Jones.
Parrish did so in February and threw their replacements off the board. She said her ruling also reinstated the executives, who returned to work last month.
The judge received a copy of the “no confidence” petition in yesterday’s mail. A hearing in the case is set for this week.
The petition says that during the tenure of the reinstated directors, the charity’s workplace atmosphere was filled with infighting, poor business decisions and employee harassment from top-down management.
Feed the Children has also hired four lobbyists for the first time in it’s 30 year history according to registration papers filed with the US Senate and AP.
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This is choice! And very suspicious. TBM is riddled with scandal and an incredibly bogus organization. Plus, Paul Crouch and his wife are rather…creepy. They look like they were embalmed long ago. Feed the Children…what children? Which country? How many little mouths actually get food? Do they (possibly) get old S&H Green Stamps or something? I sense no transparency here and quite a lot of “production costs” being glossed over.
They should be investigated: Osteen, Crouch and the lot.
I’ve heard so much about ‘Feed the Children’ I’m not sure who to believe any more, but if something under-handed is going on, it’s a sad shame that something that “started out as a good thing” has turned into something so very ugly.
As for Joel and Victoria, he seemed to be ‘crowing’ this past Sunday when he said they’d be partnering with ‘Feed the Children’, and it wouldn’t cost either of them “one red cent”, so if they’re not giving “anything” in the way of money, building supplies, etc. then why in the world is ‘Victoria’s name’ going to appear anywhere on the project?? What exactly am I (and others as well) missing here?
This may sound stupid folks but how about praying for ‘ALL’ involved that God/Jesus will rectify what’s going on, and if there’s anything crooked put the whole situation straight, if for no other reason other than to get someone who could “really” help these children and the grownups who need it as well? God have mercy on and help ALL of mankind.