Never heard of Steelroots, the youth programming branch of the Inspiration Network. It’s unfortunate that the US network lawyers are legally correct. The US network (INSP) in it’s grandiosity possesses the name. It’s unlikely most of us outside the US have heard of Steelroots. Or The Inspiration Network. And we’re none the poorer for it. It’s just another religious broadcaster in the US. I don’t really care. I care a lot less after seeing this August letter, which was sent to the UK Steelroots group.
The Inspiration Network was bought by Morris Cerullo in the 1980′s from Jim Bakker for 7 million and was the former PTL Satellite network. The network headquarters in South Carolina is called The City of Light (really!). The City of Light (93 acres of promises from the prosperity gospel peddling organization) just isn’t coming together as promised.
Morris Cerullo’s son David Cerullo, who runs INSP, rakes in big bucks. The Steelroots division is run by David’s son Ben. According to Guidestar, Cerullo makes more than any other religious broadcaster in the US.
Hence the letter from his lawyers. INSP can afford to go after a small group of locals in the UK, so they did. The network registered ‘Steelroots’ (a for-profit division) as a service mark in the US and Europe. Bully for them. ( a service mark is a trademarked service as opposed to a product)
It is perfectly legal for the Cerullo family to brag about their empire, sic the business law firm on youth workers and the kids they minister to, and look like law abiding world class jerks in doing so. The irony is not lost. The INSP Steelroots brand tag is “Revealing the truth to today’s generation.” Steelroots was started in 2000 by Ben Cerullo and states “Our goal is to communicate that message (gospel) in a genuine and direct manner.”
Oh.
The Cerullo’s network people could have written Sheffield without legal heavy-handedness, offered to help with transition costs, re-launch etc. But they didn’t.
Right. Consumer confusion. We silly Christian couch potatoes are going to get all mixed up as religious media consumers. Sheffield UK. Indian Land SC. (I mix up my continents and countries up all the time, don’t you?). Different efforts; an 80 million dollar a year network and music videos, versus a couple of church trusts. Kids sponsoring other kids in Tanzania, versus boy bands. We can’t be trusted to tell the difference between .com and .org., a website and a television network. Entertainment versus service. Too tough for me. It’s about the bottom line, can’t have a donation going to the wrong place now can we? There is a City of Light to build and a world-wide media dream to pursue.
Ministry Watch has The Inspirational Network on it’s 2009 donor alert list.
The UK response so far:
The UK gets top marks for it’s transparency and a cheerful spirit.
At Steelroots we realise how very very priviledged we are to live where we do in the way we do and that it really is our responsibility to honour God by using our wealth and opportunity to help and support others. This sentiment is evident by the way that so many of Steelroots Young People go on to serve God in charities, overseas and through churches in practical missional ways…
We have comitted ourselves to supporting mission in other areas PRAYERFULLY, PRACTICALLY and FINANCIALLY. You can download a commitment form from the rsources tab on the left to specify how you would like to get involved and if you want to – give this form to Joel and you will recieve reminder emails to keep you accountable about what you have decided…
The US network could have broached the UK group without the legal heavy-handedness. They could have behaved like Christians. But they didn’t, the opportunity for grace is gone. The letter is online and bloggers such as myself are shaking our heads.
From the UK today:
If you have any ideas, tweet them, email them, encourage them. Or better yet offer a few dollars to help the Sheffield Steelroots Youth Community with the cost of compliance so they can get on with the work of the kingdom.
Some seriously righteous indignation. :^) And some more. And another, pointing out this is not carried in the UK on Sky TV Channel 767. The Inspiration Network (Inspiration) or shortened to INI, is on FREESAT – 767, 587, 690.
Steelroots US
Inspiration Network (INSP)
No point in pretending. I’m irked. I wonder if US teens who support INSP’s Steelroots would like to have seen this handled differently?
You’d they might know which channel they broadcast on, wouldn’t you? 587 on Sky, not 767.
Irked BD? I think irked would be a mild form of the feelings this religious bully invokes in me. I had to ask God to intervene when I prayed for the UK kids because I was tempted to curse the INSP. That’s God’s job, not mine.
How can the Inspiration Network inspire such pure evil? A struggling ministry in the UK that is honouring God with deed and word is attacked by a corporation with more wealth than brains.
What goes around comes around. God is not mocked and what the INSP represents and has shown the world by their actions does nothing to inspire confidence or faith in the god they represent – money.
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It’s bad that Cerullo et al would weant to squish the British group like a bug–indignation is quite appropriate…
This is outrageous, I don’t know what else to say except they are money grabbing….
Thanks for blogging this.
The whole affair is a classic definition of “bully pulpit”.
The servicemark is not quite like a brand name like
Polaroid, Xerox or Kleenex. It’s sad that an organisation
that makes money hand over fist should want to
trample on a small endeavour that has a better
understanding of the “messsage”.
The Cerullo organization is providing indisputable proof that they are wolves in sheep’s clothing trying to devour little sheep like that, wow, despicable is the word that comes to my mind – completely unchristian. Talk about losing connection to the Head, Jesus of Nazareth who went around doing GOOD!
Avoiding a lawsuit with Christians
1 Corinthians 6:1
“When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers.” I think there is a nicer way this could be resolved. It’s time to use some of that God given wisdom we have been given. The world is watching.
I’m in England and have never heard of either SteelRoots! But then I live 200 miles from Sheffield where the UK version is based. Incidentally, Sheffield is very much our “steel city”, a bit like Pittsburgh in the US, which will be why they chose the name.
Two things spring to mind.
Firstly, Morris Cerullo has long been a disgrace to Jesus and the Church. He’s a complete conman who is just interested in getting rich in whatever way he can – look at his wikipedia entry – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Cerullo – for details of some of the dreadful things he’s done over the years. And here’s a report from his 2010 UK visit – http://realchristianity.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/my-mission-to-earls-court-a-review-of-morris-cerullos-mission-to-london-2010-by-steve-campbell-part-1/ – which makes distressing reading (check out all three parts). The Inspiration Network is part of the Cerullo family business empire and, like all christian tv, it’s purpoose is simply to make money.
Secondly, the Sheffield group would be advised to talk to a lawyer with experience in trade marks and intellectual property. It could well be that they could challenge Cerullo’s registration of Steelroots, or it could be that the registration does not prevent them using the same name for their local youthwork. (I’d be interested to know how many people in Sheffield watch Cerullo’s Steelroots program – probably next-to-none). But this is likely to cost money that they simply don’t have.
But this sucks, big time!
Amen, Susan. I like the law of boating where the more powerful power boats are supposed to yield right-of-way to sailboats and the bigger boats yield to smaller boats – seems very civilized and gentleman-like to me – so how about Cerullo’s organization just do the christian thing and hyphenate or put a space between the two words Steel Roots instead of bullying and intimidating tender young lambs. Or better yet use their well-paid high-power team of creative experts to come up with a new name/logo altogether, an advantage I doubt these young believers have. (I’d like to suggest they seek the Lord for guidance, but that would seem to be a waste of my breath in this instance.) The organizers of INSP want to live by the law, but are they willing to die by the law – by this it seems they are also revealing what covenant they are really under.
My prayer is that the Lord will use this situation to show these young people what is going on with the visible organized church that is contrary to the faith that Jesus gave us, so that they will “come out of her”, rather than that they would learn to follow this lowest of low bad examples.
Morris Cerullo is a semi regular on Benny Hinn’s ”This is Your Day” show, which speaks for itself and almost without exception, it’s to discuss the false gospel of prosperity and how to get rich through the ”100 fold blessing.”
(If that 100 fold blessing truly worked, then ALL Christians should be billionaires right now—-and they’re NOT—-so that blows the lid of that theory right there. The 100 fold blessing has to do with becomming rich in the fruits of the Spirit—-NOT material wealth.)
I was especially irritated when Cerullo told tv viewers to ”’go to your phone and make that call for a donation and I’ll anoint your phone.”
(I could just picture little old ladies with barely enough to live on, wheeling their walkers to the phone and pledging their last bit of grocery money, while Cerullo and Hinn go home to their palaces on private planes.)
I also heard Benny Hinn tell viewers to NOT send a check in the mail but to do it NOW on the phone, by credit card because if you send it by regualar mail, the ‘anointing” will have worn off. (Make that FALSE ANOINTING)
If that’s not a classic con artist technique (putting pressure on you to purchase or donate NOW rather than later) then what is !
If you Google Morris Cerullo, it will tell you everything you need to know about him (false prophecies, lavish lifestyle, etc) and put it this way, if someone is appearing on the Benny Hinn show, that should be a GIGANTIC red flag right there.
By the way, I only watched Benny Hinn in the past for research and curiosity purposes (I couldn’t comment about him in blogs without doing some homework first) but no longer watch at all, except on rare ocassions when Dr. Eric Braverman is on and they’re discussing health and nutrition matters only. (As much as I like and admire Dr. Braverman though, it disappoints me that he would appear on the same platform as Hinn.)
Speaking of that 100 fold blessing, please key in ”’Ole Anthony on the Daniel Ott show” into Google Video and listen to what he has to say about his research on these tv evangelists (some have become homeless from sending their life savings to these people.)
I still check Hinn’s and TBN’s weekly tv schedule (online) to see what guests will be appearing because it tells you something about those people (Braveman is a rare exception.)
Thanks for the Steve Campbell articles English man. They handily dispatch Morris Cerullo scripturally.
I just checked Benny Hinn’s online tv schedule for this week and ironically, Morris Cerullo is going to be on —–both Thursday and Friday—– discussing his favourite subject: “How To Prosper During The Coming Financial Crisis.”
Stop and think about this for a minute. Both Hinn and Cerullo are multi-millionaires with private planes, palatial mansions, fancy cars, etc, etc…..if Jesus had that type of wealth, don’t you think he’d want to share at least SOME of it with his followers instead of heeping it all to himself ?
Actually, Jesus wouldn’t even have that type of stuff in the first place because he shunned the material things of this world. He instructed us to store our treasures in heaven. Are these tv evangelists doing that? No. They are building their kingdoms on earth and money appears to be their favourite subject, thereby doing the exact OPPOSITE of what Jesus instructed.
There is more than one Jesus and more than one gospel. One is genuine and the other counterfeit and it’s up to Christians to discern the difference by reading and studying Scripture daily so the enemy cannot hoodwink or deceive us in any way. If you fail to read and study the Bible daily, then you are leaving yourself open to deception.
This business of having to essentially buy a miracle…..as in ”’tell us your need and then tell us your seed” is counterfeit teaching, as is the teaching that the only way God can bless you financially is for you to sow into his kingdom SACRIFICIALLY (as opposed to giving out of your abundance).
I was divinely healed once and did not have to pay a dime in advance (nor would I have) and whatever ways I was blessed financially, had nothing to do with sending money to tv evangelists. God is sovergn and can do what he wants, when he wants and to quote Justin Peters ”isn’t real interested in our permission.”
The true Gospel of the Bible deals with the death, buriel and resurrection of Christ from the dead……NOT money !!! When you hear a tv evangelist preaching the message of prosperity greed and materialism, turn the channel because they are preaching a counterfeit gospel.
Nice catch Jackie.
Oh my goodness, I watch so little tv I didn’t realize INSP and Steelroots were right here. What is it with these ministries on former PTL property? I have Rick Joyner and Todd Bentley at Morningstar and now these jokers. It’s like there’s a curse over anything touching PTL that only attracts money grubbing charlatans.
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Morri$$$ $$$erullo: need I say more?