Televangelists

When I picked up my newspaper I was surprised to see a picture of former televangelist Jim Bakker, founder of the PTL Ministry, praying at his new church, Morningstar Fellowship. Apparently Rev. Jim, who was ensnarled in a lurid sex scandal and was sentenced to prison for defrauding PTL parishioners, has purchased 52 acres of the former Heritage USA site for Morningstar.

It made me wonder. Why do people continue to flock to churches even after their leaders have been exposed as blatant frauds? Perhaps it is because many people do not want to know the truth. Some televangelists appear to be legitimate, but others seem only to be after the shearing of the flock.

Jimmy Swaggert was one of the most powerful televangelists in America. His weekly telecasts consisted of fiery denunciations of liberals, atheists, Catholics, and every other kind of “sinner.” He had millions of followers and made millions of dollars. Then he was caught with a prostitute. Despite the fact that he was exposed as a phony and a hypocrite, he just went on preaching to crowds of followers and has been recently heard on television.

Robert Tilton was another smooth purveyor of the television evangelist’s scam. His empire reaped $80 million a year from the sheep. His message was that if you sent in donations or “vows of faith” to his “Success-N-Life” program, you would reap financial rewards. Poor, gullible people paid their money in the hope that God would grant a large return on their investment. Tilton became fabulously rich with mansions around the country and fancy cars. Then, TV’s “Primetime Live” exposed the fraud. They found dumpsters behind the ministry’s headquarters filled with the “prayer requests” on which “Brother Bob” was supposed to act. That didn’t stop Robert Tilton. He got back on TV, doing the same old thing.
In 2002, NBC’s Dateline did an expose’ of Benny Hinn, the televangelist, faith healer, and minister. Hinn appears regularly on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Dateline did a follow-up on Hinn’s healings and found evidence that people were not cured. Former employees of Hinn said that they were instructed to look for people who were standing in front of their wheelchairs, They were not to take genuinely disabled people. A women who said on television that Hinn had cast-out cancer from her and her son’s bodies lost her son to cancer two weeks later. She herself died from cancer a few weeks after her son.

On television and at his crusades, Hinn promised that God would not only improve people’s health, but their financial life as well. People were to do this by giving money to Hinn’s ministry. Hinn called this “sowing the seed,” and the idea was that people could reap large profits by donating money to Hinn and waiting for God to reward them financially. Hinn makes about $100 million a year, but his contributors don’t get rich. They stay poor. Dateline reported that Hinn flies around the world in a private jet, stopping-off at expensive resorts. It also reported that Hinn was building a palatial new home for $3.5 million in an exclusive gated community overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

It is one thing to say you are healing people through the power of God. Even if God does not cure them, sick people might improve just thinking they are going to get better. Medical studies have shown that the right attitude can help in the treatment of illness. It is another thing to tell people that if they donate money they will get rich. They do not get rich. They would be better-off if they invested in a Lotto ticket at odds of ten-million-to-one.

Paul and Jan Crouch, who own TBN, the network that carries the Benny Hinn appearances and other religious shows, harp on the theme that viewers will be rewarded, even enriched, for donating to TBN. "When you give to God," Paul Crouch says, "you're simply loaning to the Lord and He gives it right on back." According to the Los Angeles Times, the Crouches’s network generates more than $170 million a year in revenue. The Crouches are continually asking for money to keep their network on the air despite the fact that the network is fabulously rich and needs no money. Lower-income, rural Americans in the South are among TBN's most faithful donors. Their small gifts underwrite a lavish lifestyle for the Crouches. Paul and Jan collect combined salaries of over $750,000 per year. They travel the world in a $7.2-million, 19-seat Canadair Turbojet owned by TBN. They drive luxury cars. Thirty ministry-owned homes are at their disposal — including a pair of Newport Beach mansions, a mountain retreat near Lake Arrowhead, and a ranch in Texas.

One of the popular televangelists on the TBN network is Rod Parsley. As he bounds around the stage of his congregation, Parsley uses every trick in the rhetorical book to manipulate the emotions of his viewers. A bible school dropout, he is criticized by fellow ministers for unbiblical teaching and mispronunciation of biblical names. Nevertheless, he charges ahead, quoting scripture and calling for a spiritual army to “track down our adversary, defeat him valiantly, then stand upon his carcass.”

According to critics, Parsley preys on people of modest means, promising prosperity in return for putting money in his pocket. Ole Anthony, president of the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, describes Parsley as a “power-hungry” man, living “an extravagant lifestyle that has become the hallmark of televangelists these days.” Parsley resides in a 7,500-square-foot house valued at more than $1 million on a 21-acre compound. Parsley also owns a half-million-dollar jet plane.

Parsley is up-front about his desire to get money out of his parishioners and television viewers. He says: “I just love to talk about money. Let me be very clear -- I want your money. I deserve it. This church deserves it.” Parsley teaches that the money sent-in by viewers, along with tithes and offerings, are “seeds.” By sowing the seeds, the givers can expect huge financial returns. God will not only double and triple the money given, but donors will get it back one hundredfold. And the money flows in. Parsley does not reveal the finances of the church, but says that the finances are audited by the “Board of Directors.” The board of directors is composed of Parsley and his family. The church is run like a family business.

Another staple of the Parsley ministry is the use of prayer cloths. Parsley cuts-up little pieces of cloth and sends them out to his followers who are asked to send them back with a donation. Parsley says: “I want to encourage every one of my Breakthrough Partners and friends to send a prayer cloth along with your prayer needs to be prayed over. When I return your prayer cloth to you, I believe the tangible transfer of God's creative power will flow into your life and birth your miracle! I believe God, Himself, will anoint you to reap a mighty harvest of your physical, spiritual, and financial needs.” This sounds like the outlandish fraud that was perpetrated by Robert Tilton.

Why do people support these televangelists? The answer is probably that they are all compelling and powerful speakers. Swaggert, Tilton, and Parsley can have people on their feet laughing, crying, or applauding in high emotion. Jan Crouch, in her enormous pink wigs and Tammy Faye makeup, accompanied by dolorous music, does a crying bit that brings her audience to tears. Benny Hinn arouses the pity of the audience for the people he is about to heal and then dramatically touches them with a bold flourish as they topple over backward. Millions of Americans confuse glibness with righteousness, theater with holiness. It’s not just that the people at home are simple-minded. They also exhibit a physical and mental laziness. They feel part of the work of God just by sending in small donations. They don’t have to go to church and don’t want to think about the wealth of the televangelists. It doesn’t bother them that the televangelists are rolling in dough. That’s what God wants.