List of Christian evangelist scandals
Encyclopedia
This is a list of scandal
s related mostly to American evangelical Christians. (Roman Catholic clergy and high-profile leaders from New Religious Movements are not within the scope of this list.)
, her daughter from her first marriage, became estranged from Semple McPherson and successfully sued her mother's attorney for slander during the 1930s. As a result of this she was cut out of her mother's will. Aimee Semple McPherson died in 1944 from an accidental overdose of barbiturates.
and was involved in the rise of two worldwide denominations (Calvary Chapel
and the Vineyard Movement). Both churches later disowned him because of his active homosexuality, removing him first from leadership positions, then ultimately firing him. He died of AIDS-related complications in 1993.
, mixes footage of revival meetings with Gortner's explanations of how evangelists manipulate their audiences. It won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
, but was not shown widely in the Southern United States due to fears that it would cause outrage in the Bible Belt
.
erupted at the College, involving claims that Hargis had sex with male and female students. Hargis was forced out of American Christian College's presidency as a result. Further scandals erupted when members of Hargis' youth choir, the "All American Kids", accused Hargis of sexual misconduct as well. The college eventually closed down in the mid-1970s. Hargis denied the allegations publicly.
Swaggart was caught again by California police three years later in 1991 with another prostitute, Rosemary Garcia, who was riding with him in his car when he was stopped for driving on the wrong side of the road. When asked why she was with Swaggart, she replied, "He asked me for sex. I mean, that's why he stopped me. That's what I do. I'm a prostitute."
and Steve Shaw
debunked
his methods by showing that instead of receiving information about audience members from supernatural
sources, he received it through an in-ear receiver.
caused outrage in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Cerullo's claims of faith healing were the focus of particular concern. At a London crusade in 1992, he pronounced a child cancer sufferer to be healed, yet the girl died two months later. Multiple complaints were upheld against satellite television channels transmitting Cerullo's claims of faith-healing, and a panel of doctors concluded that Cerullo's claims of miraculous healing powers could not be substantiated. Cerullo also produced fund-raising material which was condemned as unethical by a number of religious leaders, as it implied that giving money to his organisation would result in family members becoming Christians.
. Later married to Dr. Eugene Scott, who died from prostate cancer 5 years after, she received his large amounts of assets. She has fought many legal battles to end her images & videos circulating the internet. She has fought many legal battles to end her images & videos circulating the internet.
and ABC News
conducted an investigation of Tilton. The investigation, broadcast on ABC's Primetime Live on 21 November 1991, found that Tilton's ministry threw away prayer requests without reading them, keeping only the money or valuables sent to them by viewers, garnering his ministry an estimated $80 million US$ a year. In the original investigation, one of Tilton's former prayer hotline operators claimed that the ministry cared little for desperate followers who called for prayer, saying that Tilton had a computer installed in July 1989 to make sure that the phone operators were off the line in seven minutes. Tilton sued ABC for libel in 1992, but the case was dismissed in 1993, and Tilton's show was off the air by 30 October 1993.
regarding his faith healing claims. He was then imprisoned for tax evasion in 1996. After restarting his ministry upon release, TV news investigations in Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia
, investigated his revival meetings and concluded his healing claims were false. A 2010 program on the British Channel 4
station also concluded that Grant's claimed supernatural abilities were fake.
from the 1970s to June, 1998 was arrested in July, 1996 on a charge of indecent exposure in a public restroom in Daytona Beach, Florida. He stepped down amid allegations of molestation of adult members during baptism and wedding ceremonies that went as far back as 20 years earlier.
) is a former leader of Focus on the Family
's Love Won Out conference and former chairman of the board for Exodus International North America. His claimed shedding of homosexuality is also the subject of his autobiography Not Afraid to Change. In September 2000, Paulk was found and photographed in a Washington, D.C. gay bar, and accused by opponents of flirting with male patrons at the bar. Later questioned by gay rights activist Wayne Besen
, Paulk denied being in the bar despite photographic proof to the contrary. Initially, FoF's Dr. James Dobson
sided with Paulk and supported his claims. Subsequently, Paulk, who himself had written about his habit of lying while he openly lived as a homosexual, confessed to being in the bar, but claimed he entered the establishment for reasons other than sexual pursuits. Paulk retained his Board seat for Exodus, however he did so while on probation. Paulk did not run again for chairman of the board of Exodus when his term expired.
, or TBN, the world's largest evangelical Christian television network, as well as the former host of TBN's flagship variety show, Praise the Lord. In September 2004, the Los Angeles Times
published a series of articles raising questions about the fundraising practices and financial transparency of TBN, as well as the allegations of a former ministry employee, Enoch Lonnie Ford, that he had a homosexual affair with Crouch during the 1990s. TBN denied the allegations, claiming that Ford's claims were part of an extortion
scheme and that the Times was a "left-wing and anti-Christian newspaper." In 2005, Ford appeared at the taping of the ION Television show Lie Detector. The show's producers decided not to air the show, and the outcome of the lie detector test was never released. Consequently, none of the allegations were substantiated.
, but his wife Erica started a new church, Victory to Victory, in Wembley. Douglas has upon his release resumed full pastoral ministry alongside his wife.
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
and was the president of the National Association of Evangelicals
(NAE) from 2003 until November 2006. Haggard's position allowed him occasional access to President George W. Bush
. In 2006 it was alleged that Haggard had been regularly visiting a male prostitute who also provided him with methamphetamine
. Haggard admitted his wrongdoing and resigned as pastor of New Life church and as president of the NAE. The high-profile case was significant also because it immediately preceded the 2006 mid-term elections
and may have even affected national voting patterns. In January 2009, Haggard admitted to a second homosexual relationship with a male church member on CNN-TV and other national media, and when asked, would not directly answer a question about his other possible homosexual relationships.
Ted Haggard has recently started a new church.
Executive Committee, was arrested for "offering to engage in an act of lewdness" with a male undercover police officer.
concluded that Deya and his wife were stealing Kenyan babies. Deya was arrested in London during December 2006, and following a long legal process it was reported in September 2011 that he would be extradited
to Kenya to face child abduction charges.
), was president of Oral Roberts University
until his forced resignation on 23 November 2007. Roberts was named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging improper use of university funds for political and personal purposes and improper use of university resources.
) was the founder and head pastor of Chapel Hill Harvester Church in Decatur, Georgia
from 1960 until the 1990s. A number of women from the congregation came forward during the 1990s and 2000s, claiming that Paulk had sexual relations with them; charges of child molestation were also made. Some of these claims have subsequently been proven correct. Moreover, Donnie Earl Paulk, the current senior pastor of the church and nephew of Earl Paulk, had a court-ordered DNA test in 2007 which showed that he was Earl's son, not his nephew, which means that Earl and his sister-in-law had had a sexual relationship which led to Donnie's birth.
pastor, conservative
activist, and politician in the US state of North Carolina
. Privette was president of the Christian Action League and a prominent figure in North Carolina moral battles. In 2007, Privette resigned as president of North Carolina's Christian Action League and from the Board of Directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, following revelations on 19 July that he had been charged with six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution.
in 2002, but they separated in May 2007. In August 2007, Weeks physically assaulted Bynum in a hotel parking lot and was convicted of the crime in March 2008. The couple divorced in June 2008 and Weeks remarried in October 2009.
, England and founder of Michael Reid Ministries who resigned from the role of pastor at Peniel Church in April 2008, after admitting to an eight-year extra-marital sexual relationship. The scandal was widely reported online and in UK newspapers. He has since re-developed an itinerant evangelistic ministry and has been speaking at a number of churches in the UK and overseas.
, one of the largest churches in the United States with 26,000 members, was arrested on 15 May 2008 for solicitation of a minor after driving from the Dallas area to Bryan, Texas
, in order to allegedly engage in sexual relations with what he thought to be a 13 year-old girl he had met online. Barron's online communications had in fact been with undercover law enforcement official.
in Florida, which began in April 2008. Bentley claimed that tens of thousands of people were healed at the revival. However, in August 2008, he stepped down permanently when it was revealed he was separating from his wife, Shonnah, and was in a relationship with Jessa Hasbrook, a member of his staff.
reported on 4 May 2010, that on 13 April 2010, Christian leader George Alan Rekers
was photographed at Miami International Airport returning from an extended overseas trip with a twenty-year-old "rent boy
", or gay male prostitute, known as "Lucien" (later identified as Jo-Vanni Roman). Given his opinion on homosexuals and homosexual behavior, the scandal surrounds Rekers' decision to employ a homosexual escort as a traveling companion, and how that runs contrary to Rekers' public stances on such issues.
Rekers claimed that Lucien was there to help carry Rekers' luggage as Rekers had allegedly had recent surgery, yet Rekers was seen carrying his own luggage when he and Lucien were spotted at the airport. On his blog, Rekers denied having sex with the man.
In subsequent interviews, Roman said Rekers had paid him to provide nude massages daily, which included genital touching.
, the founder of the Daystar Television Network
, admitted on television that he had been involved in an extramarital affair several years prior. He further alleged an extortion scheme against him. In late 2010 and early 2011, three former Daystar employees filed a series of lawsuits against Lamb and his wife, Joni, making allegations ranging from financial mismanagement in relation to the affair, to sexual harassment
, and to wrongful termination.
Investigators said Reeves and his three sons used their now-defunct company, Alanar, to trick about 11,000 investors into buying bonds worth $120 million secured by mortgages on church construction projects.
Instead, Reeves and his sons diverted money from new investments to pay off previous investors, pocketing $6 million and buying luxuries.
Church, is head of Christian Voice
, a Conservative Christian pressure group in the UK.
In January 2011, Green's former wife, Caroline Green, accused him of repeatedly physically assaulting her and their children, including one incident where he allegedly beat her with a weapon until she bled, and another in which their son allegedly required hospital treatment after having been beaten with a piece of wood.
, one involving a 14-year-old boy and another on a 21-year-old man. Although he initially denied the charges, he later pleaded guilty and confessed that he had been battling with his sexuality for many years.
He was subsequently sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court, London, to 8 and 6 months in prison to run concurrently. He will be on the sex offenders register for 5 years. He is currently serving his sentence.
Chuck Grassley
(R
-IA
) opened a probe into the finances of six televangelists who preach a "prosperity gospel". The probe investigated reports of lavish lifestyles by televangelists including: fleets of Rolls Royces
, palatial mansions, private jets and other expensive items purportedly paid for by television viewers who donate due to the ministries' encouragement of offerings. The six that were investigated are:
On 6 January 2011 Senator Grassley released his review of the six ministries response to his inquiry. He called for a further congressional review of tax-exemption laws for religious groups.
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
s related mostly to American evangelical Christians. (Roman Catholic clergy and high-profile leaders from New Religious Movements are not within the scope of this list.)
Aimee Semple McPherson, 1920s–40s
One of the most famous evangelist scandals involved Canadian-born Aimee Semple McPherson in the 1920s, who allegedly faked her own death. She later claimed that she had been kidnapped, but a grand jury adjourned with no indictment, saying it had not enough evidence to proceed. Roberta Semple SalterRoberta Semple Salter
Roberta Semple Salter was the daughter of evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and half-sister to Aimee's other child, Rolf McPherson. Roberta was the original heir to her mother's ministry, which was later taken over by son Rolf. -Early life:Salter was born in Hong Kong, where her mother and father,...
, her daughter from her first marriage, became estranged from Semple McPherson and successfully sued her mother's attorney for slander during the 1930s. As a result of this she was cut out of her mother's will. Aimee Semple McPherson died in 1944 from an accidental overdose of barbiturates.
Lonnie Frisbee, 1970s–1980s
Lonnie Frisbee was an American closeted gay Pentecostal evangelist and self-described "seeing prophet" in the late 1960s and 1970s who despite his "hippie" appearance had notable success as a minister and evangelist. Frisbee was a key figure in the Jesus MovementJesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
and was involved in the rise of two worldwide denominations (Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel is an evangelical association of Christian churches with over one thousand congregations worldwide. Calvary Chapel also maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. It presents itself as a "fellowship of...
and the Vineyard Movement). Both churches later disowned him because of his active homosexuality, removing him first from leadership positions, then ultimately firing him. He died of AIDS-related complications in 1993.
Marjoe Gortner, early 1970s
Gortner rose to fame in the late 1940s as a child preacher, but he had simply been trained to do this by his parents and he had no personal faith. He was able to perform "miracles" and received large amounts of money in donations. After suffering a crisis of conscience, he invited a film crew to accompany him on a final preaching tour. The resulting film, MarjoeMarjoe
Marjoe is a 1972 American documentary film produced and directed by Howard Smith and Sarah Kernochan about the life of evangelist Marjoe Gortner. It won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.- Story:...
, mixes footage of revival meetings with Gortner's explanations of how evangelists manipulate their audiences. It won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
, but was not shown widely in the Southern United States due to fears that it would cause outrage in the Bible Belt
Bible Belt
Bible Belt is an informal term for a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average.The...
.
Billy James Hargis, early 1970s
Hargis was a prolific author and radio evangelist. Hargis formed American Christian College in 1971 to teach fundamentalist Christian principles. However, a sex scandalSex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
erupted at the College, involving claims that Hargis had sex with male and female students. Hargis was forced out of American Christian College's presidency as a result. Further scandals erupted when members of Hargis' youth choir, the "All American Kids", accused Hargis of sexual misconduct as well. The college eventually closed down in the mid-1970s. Hargis denied the allegations publicly.
Jimmy Swaggart, Marvin Gorman, and Jim & Tammy Bakker, 1986 and 1991
In 1986, evangelist Jimmy Swaggart began on-screen attacks against fellow televangelists Marvin Gorman and Jim Bakker. He uncovered Gorman's affair with a member of Gorman's congregation, and also helped expose Bakker's infidelity (which was arranged by a colleague while on an out-of-state trip). These exposures received widespread media coverage. Gorman retaliated in kind by hiring a private investigator to uncover Swaggart's own adulterous indiscretions with a prostitute. Swaggart was subsequently forced to step down from his pulpit for a year and made a tearful televised apology in February 1988 to his congregation, saying "I have sinned against you, my Lord, and I would ask that your precious blood would wash and cleanse every stain until it is in the seas of God's forgiveness."Swaggart was caught again by California police three years later in 1991 with another prostitute, Rosemary Garcia, who was riding with him in his car when he was stopped for driving on the wrong side of the road. When asked why she was with Swaggart, she replied, "He asked me for sex. I mean, that's why he stopped me. That's what I do. I'm a prostitute."
Peter Popoff, 1987
A self-proclaimed prophet and faith healer in the 1980s, Popoff's ministry went bankrupt in 1987 after magician and skeptic James RandiJames Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
and Steve Shaw
Banachek
Banachek is an American mentalist. Banachek has written books on mentalism, such as Psychological Subtleties, and invented various magic and mentalism effects, including the Penn & Teller bullet catch and the original "buried alive." Banachek is also the Director of the James Randi Educational...
debunked
Debunker
A debunker is an individual who attempts to discredit and contradict claims as being false, exaggerated or pretentious. The term is closely associated with skeptical investigation of, or in some cases irrational resistance to, controversial topics such as U.F.O.s, claimed paranormal phenomena,...
his methods by showing that instead of receiving information about audience members from supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
sources, he received it through an in-ear receiver.
Morris Cerullo, 1990s
A number of incidents involving California-based televangelist Morris CerulloMorris Cerullo
Morris Cerullo is an American pentecostal televangelist.-Early life and ministry:Cerullo, whose evangelistic ministry is based in San Diego, California, was born in Passaic, New Jersey to a Russo Jewish/Italian family. His parents died in an automobile accident when he was only two years old...
caused outrage in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. Cerullo's claims of faith healing were the focus of particular concern. At a London crusade in 1992, he pronounced a child cancer sufferer to be healed, yet the girl died two months later. Multiple complaints were upheld against satellite television channels transmitting Cerullo's claims of faith-healing, and a panel of doctors concluded that Cerullo's claims of miraculous healing powers could not be substantiated. Cerullo also produced fund-raising material which was condemned as unethical by a number of religious leaders, as it implied that giving money to his organisation would result in family members becoming Christians.
Melissa Scott, 1992
Melissa Scott [known then as Melissa Pastore] married in Las Vegas her first husband, Paul J. Pastore, where they lived in Hollywood. She starred with the name Babri Bridges in affiliation with Vivid EntertainmentVivid Entertainment
Vivid Entertainment Group is an adult video producer, featuring a catalog of VHS and DVD titles and internet content. In 2006 it was described by Reuters as one of the handful of studios that dominate the U.S. porn industry....
. Later married to Dr. Eugene Scott, who died from prostate cancer 5 years after, she received his large amounts of assets. She has fought many legal battles to end her images & videos circulating the internet. She has fought many legal battles to end her images & videos circulating the internet.
Mike Warnke, 1991
Warnke was a popular Christian evangelist and comedian during the 1970s and 1980s. He claimed in his autobiography, The Satan Seller (1973), that he had once been deeply involved in a Satanic cult and was a Satanic priest before converting to Christianity. In 1991, Cornerstone magazine launched an investigation into Warnke's life and testimony. It investigated Warnke's life, from interviews with over one hundred personal friends and acquaintances, to his ministry's tax receipts. Its investigation turned up damaging evidence of fraud and deceit. The investigation also revealed the unflattering circumstances surrounding Warnke's multiple marriages, affairs, and divorces. Most critically, however, the investigation showed how Warnke could not possibly have done the many things he claimed to have done throughout his nine-month tenure as a Satanist, much less become a drug-addicted dealer or become a Satanic high priest.Robert Tilton, 1991
Tilton is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and early 1990s through his paid television program Success-N-Life. At its peak, it aired in all 235 American TV markets. In 1991, Diane SawyerDiane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
and ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
conducted an investigation of Tilton. The investigation, broadcast on ABC's Primetime Live on 21 November 1991, found that Tilton's ministry threw away prayer requests without reading them, keeping only the money or valuables sent to them by viewers, garnering his ministry an estimated $80 million US$ a year. In the original investigation, one of Tilton's former prayer hotline operators claimed that the ministry cared little for desperate followers who called for prayer, saying that Tilton had a computer installed in July 1989 to make sure that the phone operators were off the line in seven minutes. Tilton sued ABC for libel in 1992, but the case was dismissed in 1993, and Tilton's show was off the air by 30 October 1993.
W. V. Grant, 1996 and 2003
Grant was investigated by James RandiJames Randi
James Randi is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation...
regarding his faith healing claims. He was then imprisoned for tax evasion in 1996. After restarting his ministry upon release, TV news investigations in Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, investigated his revival meetings and concluded his healing claims were false. A 2010 program on the British Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
station also concluded that Grant's claimed supernatural abilities were fake.
Bob Moorehead, 1998
Moorehead, pastor of the Overlake Christian ChurchOverlake Christian Church
Overlake Christian Church is a non-denominational megachurch in Redmond, Washington. It was once the largest church in the state of Washington.-Mission:...
from the 1970s to June, 1998 was arrested in July, 1996 on a charge of indecent exposure in a public restroom in Daytona Beach, Florida. He stepped down amid allegations of molestation of adult members during baptism and wedding ceremonies that went as far back as 20 years earlier.
Roy Clements, 1999
Clements was a prominent figure within British evangelical Christianity. In 1999, he revealed he was in a homosexual relationship, resigned his pastorship, and separated from his wife. He had written a number of well-received books which were withdrawn from sale when the news broke.John Paulk, 2000
John Paulk (no relation to Earl PaulkEarl Paulk
Earl Pearly Paulk, Jr. was the American founder of the Cathedral at Chapel Hill, a charismatic/Pentecostal megachurch in Decatur, Georgia; a suburb of Atlanta...
) is a former leader of Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
's Love Won Out conference and former chairman of the board for Exodus International North America. His claimed shedding of homosexuality is also the subject of his autobiography Not Afraid to Change. In September 2000, Paulk was found and photographed in a Washington, D.C. gay bar, and accused by opponents of flirting with male patrons at the bar. Later questioned by gay rights activist Wayne Besen
Wayne Besen
Wayne Besen is an American gay rights advocate. He is a former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign and the founder of Truth Wins Out.Besen says he has interviewed hundreds of former and current "ex-gays," and is an outspoken critic of organisations such as Homosexuals Anonymous.- Photos of...
, Paulk denied being in the bar despite photographic proof to the contrary. Initially, FoF's Dr. James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
sided with Paulk and supported his claims. Subsequently, Paulk, who himself had written about his habit of lying while he openly lived as a homosexual, confessed to being in the bar, but claimed he entered the establishment for reasons other than sexual pursuits. Paulk retained his Board seat for Exodus, however he did so while on probation. Paulk did not run again for chairman of the board of Exodus when his term expired.
Paul Crouch, 2004
Paul Crouch is the founder and president of the Trinity Broadcasting NetworkTrinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, or TBN, the world's largest evangelical Christian television network, as well as the former host of TBN's flagship variety show, Praise the Lord. In September 2004, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
published a series of articles raising questions about the fundraising practices and financial transparency of TBN, as well as the allegations of a former ministry employee, Enoch Lonnie Ford, that he had a homosexual affair with Crouch during the 1990s. TBN denied the allegations, claiming that Ford's claims were part of an extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
scheme and that the Times was a "left-wing and anti-Christian newspaper." In 2005, Ford appeared at the taping of the ION Television show Lie Detector. The show's producers decided not to air the show, and the outcome of the lie detector test was never released. Consequently, none of the allegations were substantiated.
Douglas Goodman, 2004
Douglas Goodman, an evangelical preacher, and his wife Erica were pastors of Victory Christian Centre in London, England. The church was one of the largest in the United Kingdom. He came into notoriety when he was jailed for three and a half years for the sexual assault of four members of his congregation in 2004. VCC was closed by the Charity CommissionCharity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
, but his wife Erica started a new church, Victory to Victory, in Wembley. Douglas has upon his release resumed full pastoral ministry alongside his wife.
Kent Hovind, 2006
Kent Hovind is an American Baptist minister and Young Earth creationist. He is most famous for "creation science" seminars, in which he argues for Young Earth creationism, using his self-formulated "Hovind Theory." He has been criticized by both the mainstream scientific community and other creationists. In 2006, Hovind, who also has a reputation as a tax protestor, was charged with falsely declaring bankruptcy, making threats against federal officials, filing false complaints, failing to get necessary building permits, and various tax-related charges. He was convicted of 58 federal tax offenses and related charges, for which he is currently serving a ten-year sentence.Ted Haggard, 2006
Ted Haggard was the pastor of the New Life ChurchNew Life Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
New Life Church is a non-denominational charismatic Evangelical Christian megachurch located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. New Life Church has more than 10,000 members and is pastored by Brady Boyd.-History:...
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
and was the president of the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
(NAE) from 2003 until November 2006. Haggard's position allowed him occasional access to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. In 2006 it was alleged that Haggard had been regularly visiting a male prostitute who also provided him with methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. Haggard admitted his wrongdoing and resigned as pastor of New Life church and as president of the NAE. The high-profile case was significant also because it immediately preceded the 2006 mid-term elections
United States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
and may have even affected national voting patterns. In January 2009, Haggard admitted to a second homosexual relationship with a male church member on CNN-TV and other national media, and when asked, would not directly answer a question about his other possible homosexual relationships.
Ted Haggard has recently started a new church.
Paul Barnes, 2006
Paul Barnes is the founder and former senior minister of the evangelical church Grace Chapel in Douglas County, Colorado. He confessed his homosexual activity to the church board, and his resignation was accepted on 7 December 2006. He started the church in his basement and watched it reach a membership of 2,100 in his 28 years of leadership. This scandal was notable because it was similar to Ted Haggard's (above), it occurred in the same state (Colorado) and around the same time (late 2006).Lonnie Latham, 2006
In 2006, Latham, the senior pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church and a member of the powerful Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
Executive Committee, was arrested for "offering to engage in an act of lewdness" with a male undercover police officer.
Gilbert Deya, 2006
Kenyan-born Deya moved to the United Kingdom in the 1990s and started a number of churches. He claims to have supernatural powers that allow him to make infertile women become pregnant and give birth. However, police investigations in the UK and KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
concluded that Deya and his wife were stealing Kenyan babies. Deya was arrested in London during December 2006, and following a long legal process it was reported in September 2011 that he would be extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Kenya to face child abduction charges.
Richard Roberts, 2007
In October 2007, televangelist Richard Roberts (son of the late televangelist Oral RobertsOral Roberts
Granville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
), was president of Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University
Oral Roberts University , based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the United States, is an interdenominational, Charismatic Christian, comprehensive university with an enrollment of about 3,790 students from 49 U.S. states along with a significant number of international students from 70 countries...
until his forced resignation on 23 November 2007. Roberts was named as a defendant in a lawsuit alleging improper use of university funds for political and personal purposes and improper use of university resources.
Earl Paulk, 2007
Earl Paulk (no relation to John PaulkJohn Paulk
John Paulk is an American ex-gay and conversion therapy advocate and author. He is the former leader of Focus on the Family's Love Won Out conference and was chairman of the board of Exodus International North America from 1995 to 2000. His 2000 autobiography Not Afraid to Change addresses his...
) was the founder and head pastor of Chapel Hill Harvester Church in Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
from 1960 until the 1990s. A number of women from the congregation came forward during the 1990s and 2000s, claiming that Paulk had sexual relations with them; charges of child molestation were also made. Some of these claims have subsequently been proven correct. Moreover, Donnie Earl Paulk, the current senior pastor of the church and nephew of Earl Paulk, had a court-ordered DNA test in 2007 which showed that he was Earl's son, not his nephew, which means that Earl and his sister-in-law had had a sexual relationship which led to Donnie's birth.
Coy Privette, 2007
Privette is a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
pastor, conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
activist, and politician in the US state of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Privette was president of the Christian Action League and a prominent figure in North Carolina moral battles. In 2007, Privette resigned as president of North Carolina's Christian Action League and from the Board of Directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, following revelations on 19 July that he had been charged with six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution.
Thomas Wesley Weeks, III, 2007
Weeks married fellow evangelist Juanita BynumJuanita Bynum
Juanita Bynum is an American Pentecostal televangelist, author, actress and gospel singer.-Early life:Juanita Bynum is one of 5 children, from the marriage of Elder Thomas Bynum Sr. and Katherine Bynum. She grew up in Chicago, and received a starring role in Perry Middle School's annual play, My...
in 2002, but they separated in May 2007. In August 2007, Weeks physically assaulted Bynum in a hotel parking lot and was convicted of the crime in March 2008. The couple divorced in June 2008 and Weeks remarried in October 2009.
Michael Reid, 2008
Bishop Michael Reid (born 1944) is a Christian evangelist in EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England and founder of Michael Reid Ministries who resigned from the role of pastor at Peniel Church in April 2008, after admitting to an eight-year extra-marital sexual relationship. The scandal was widely reported online and in UK newspapers. He has since re-developed an itinerant evangelistic ministry and has been speaking at a number of churches in the UK and overseas.
Joe Barron, 2008
Joe Barron, one of the 40 ministers at Prestonwood Baptist ChurchPrestonwood Baptist Church
Prestonwood Baptist Church, in Plano, Texas, is one of the largest megachurches in North America and one of America's 50 Most Influential Churches according to a 2007 survey of church leaders...
, one of the largest churches in the United States with 26,000 members, was arrested on 15 May 2008 for solicitation of a minor after driving from the Dallas area to Bryan, Texas
Bryan, Texas
Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 76,201. It is the county seat of Brazos County and is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley . It shares its border with the city of College Station, which lies to its south...
, in order to allegedly engage in sexual relations with what he thought to be a 13 year-old girl he had met online. Barron's online communications had in fact been with undercover law enforcement official.
Todd Bentley, 2008
Canadian Todd Bentley rose to prominence as the evangelist at the Lakeland RevivalLakeland revival
The Lakeland Revival or Florida Healing Outpouring was a Christian revival which began on April 2, 2008, when Evangelist Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries was invited to Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida, by Pastor Stephen Strader. Bentley was originally invited to be in Lakeland for only...
in Florida, which began in April 2008. Bentley claimed that tens of thousands of people were healed at the revival. However, in August 2008, he stepped down permanently when it was revealed he was separating from his wife, Shonnah, and was in a relationship with Jessa Hasbrook, a member of his staff.
Ergun Caner, 2010
Ergun Caner grew up in suburban Ohio, but after 9/11, presented himself to churches and other organizations as having been raised and trained in Turkey and Egypt as a militant jihadi to wage war in the US. He and his brother Emir authored books explaining Islam to evangelicals containing many basic mistakes, displaying a rudimentary rather than expert understanding of the religion. Ergun's prominence and popularity propelled him to the position of dean at the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Liberty University. In early 2010, Reformed apologist James White questioned Caner's claims to have debated Muslim scholars and representatives of virtually all religions on college campuses across the country. Legal documents located by Christian and Muslim bloggers demonstrated the fraudulence of Caner's constructed life narrative. Sound clips from his preaching contained supposed quotes in Arabic that turned out to be gibberish. Liberty's subsequent investigation resulted in Caner's not having his contract renewed for the position of dean in the summer of 2010, demoting him to professor. He took up a new post at Arlington Baptist College in 2011.George Alan Rekers, 2010
Penn Bullock and Brandon K. Thorp of the Miami New TimesMiami New Times
The Miami New Times is a free weekly newspaper published in Miami and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered near Miami's Design District.-Overview:...
reported on 4 May 2010, that on 13 April 2010, Christian leader George Alan Rekers
George Alan Rekers
George Alan Rekers is an American psychologist and ordained Southern Baptist minister. He is emeritus professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine....
was photographed at Miami International Airport returning from an extended overseas trip with a twenty-year-old "rent boy
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
", or gay male prostitute, known as "Lucien" (later identified as Jo-Vanni Roman). Given his opinion on homosexuals and homosexual behavior, the scandal surrounds Rekers' decision to employ a homosexual escort as a traveling companion, and how that runs contrary to Rekers' public stances on such issues.
Rekers claimed that Lucien was there to help carry Rekers' luggage as Rekers had allegedly had recent surgery, yet Rekers was seen carrying his own luggage when he and Lucien were spotted at the airport. On his blog, Rekers denied having sex with the man.
In subsequent interviews, Roman said Rekers had paid him to provide nude massages daily, which included genital touching.
Eddie L. Long, 2010
In September 2010 several civil complaints were filed against Bishop Eddie L. Long by men that stated Mr. Long used his position as the church leader to entice or coerce the men into consensual sexual relationships in exchange for money, travel and goods. At a press event on 26 September 2010 Bishop Long stated he would fight the civil complaints in court and would not comment on the allegations. On 27 May 2011, Bishop Long settled the matter out of court. The Canadian documentary series, Sex Scandals In Religion covered the Long caseMarcus Lamb, 2010
In December 2010, televangelist Marcus LambMarcus Lamb
Marcus Lamb is an American televangelist, minister and Christian broadcaster. He is most well known as the co-founder, president, and CEO of the Daystar Television Network, the second-largest Christian television network in the world. The network has 90 TV stations and satellite and cable coverage...
, the founder of the Daystar Television Network
Daystar Television Network
The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas...
, admitted on television that he had been involved in an extramarital affair several years prior. He further alleged an extortion scheme against him. In late 2010 and early 2011, three former Daystar employees filed a series of lawsuits against Lamb and his wife, Joni, making allegations ranging from financial mismanagement in relation to the affair, to sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
, and to wrongful termination.
Vaughn Reeves, 2010
Special Judge Dena Martin ordered former pastor Vaughn Reeves to serve consecutive six-year terms for each of nine fraud counts, in a scheme that cost about 2,900 investors $13.1 million. Among aggravating factors, Martin found Reeves targeted people over age 65 and used religion to influence them. Reeves’ attorney plans to appeal.Investigators said Reeves and his three sons used their now-defunct company, Alanar, to trick about 11,000 investors into buying bonds worth $120 million secured by mortgages on church construction projects.
Instead, Reeves and his sons diverted money from new investments to pay off previous investors, pocketing $6 million and buying luxuries.
Stephen Green, 2011
Stephen Green, a former Chairman of the Conservative Family Campaign who attends an Assemblies of GodAssemblies of God in the United Kingdom
Assemblies of God in Great Britain is a Pentecostal denomination and a part of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal denomination with a global adherence of 52.5 million people....
Church, is head of Christian Voice
Christian Voice
Christian Voice may refer to:* Christian Voice , a UK fundamentalist Christian lobby group* Christian Voice , an American conservative Christian advocacy group* Christian Voice, Karachi, a Pakistani newspaper...
, a Conservative Christian pressure group in the UK.
In January 2011, Green's former wife, Caroline Green, accused him of repeatedly physically assaulting her and their children, including one incident where he allegedly beat her with a weapon until she bled, and another in which their son allegedly required hospital treatment after having been beaten with a piece of wood.
Albert Odulele, 2011
In February 2011, televangelist, founder and senior pastor of Glory House London, Dr Albert Odulele was charged with two counts of sexual assaultSexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, one involving a 14-year-old boy and another on a 21-year-old man. Although he initially denied the charges, he later pleaded guilty and confessed that he had been battling with his sexuality for many years.
He was subsequently sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court, London, to 8 and 6 months in prison to run concurrently. He will be on the sex offenders register for 5 years. He is currently serving his sentence.
Senate probe
In 2007, SenatorUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Chuck Grassley
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley is the senior United States Senator from Iowa . A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives and the Iowa state legislature...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-IA
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
) opened a probe into the finances of six televangelists who preach a "prosperity gospel". The probe investigated reports of lavish lifestyles by televangelists including: fleets of Rolls Royces
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
, palatial mansions, private jets and other expensive items purportedly paid for by television viewers who donate due to the ministries' encouragement of offerings. The six that were investigated are:
- Kenneth CopelandKenneth CopelandKenneth Copeland is an American author, public speaker, and televangelist. He is the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, which preaches a “prosperity gospel”: "Prosperity gospel assures followers that the more they give including in the form of tithes to the church, the more they will receive...
and Gloria Copeland of Kenneth Copeland Ministries of Newark, Texas;
- Creflo DollarCreflo DollarCreflo Augustus Dollar, Jr. is an American Word of Faith teacher, pastor, and the founder of the non-denominational World Changers Church International based in Fulton County, Georgia. Creflo Dollar Ministerial Association , Creflo Dollar Ministries, and Arrow Records...
and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International and Creflo Dollar Ministries of College Park, Ga;
- Benny HinnBenny HinnToufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn הין; born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your...
of World Healing Center Church Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas;
- Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and Bishop Eddie Long Ministries of Lithonia, Ga; DocuSeries – SEX SCANDALS and RELIGION did a 2011 investigative episode on his alleged sexual misconduct
- Joyce MeyerJoyce MeyerJoyce Meyer is a Charismatic Christian author and speaker. Meyer and her husband Dave have four grown children, and live outside St. Louis, Missouri. Her ministry is headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Missouri.-Early life:Meyer was born Pauline Joyce Hutchison in south St. Louis in...
and David Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo; and
- Randy White and ex-wife Paula WhitePaula WhitePaula Michelle White is a Christian author, speaker, and church leader. She is co-founder of Without Walls International Church; a large, influential, non-denominational, charismatic church with two locations in Florida...
of the multiracial Without Walls International Church and Paula White Ministries of Tampa.
On 6 January 2011 Senator Grassley released his review of the six ministries response to his inquiry. He called for a further congressional review of tax-exemption laws for religious groups.
See also
- Garner Ted ArmstrongGarner Ted ArmstrongGarner Ted Armstrong was an American evangelist and the son of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, at the time a Sabbatarian organization that taught strict observance of seventh-day Sabbath, holy days typically associated with the Jewish faith, and other observances...
- Elmer GantryElmer GantryElmer Gantry is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 and published by Harcourt in March 1927.-Background:Lewis did research for the novel by observing the work of various preachers in Kansas City in his so-called "Sunday School" meetings on Wednesdays. He first worked with William L...
- TelevangelismTelevangelismTelevangelism is the use of television to communicate the Christian faith. The word is a portmanteau of television and evangelism and was coined by Time magazine. A “televangelist” is a Christian minister who devotes a large portion of his ministry to television broadcasting...
- List of convicted religious leaders