Pastor White Says He Won't Quit Despite Detractors
By Nicola White of The Tampa Tribune
Published: November 18, 2007
Special Report: Without Walls | Forum: Faith And Religion
TAMPA - Pastor Randy White told members of the embattled Without Walls International Church Sunday morning that despite negative news reports and problems swirling about his ministry, he would stick around as the church's leader.
"I know some of you who came really wanted me to quit," he said at the 11 a.m. service. "It ain't gonna happen."
The choir then struck up a hymn, "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired," while throngs of supporters rushed to the podium to cheer on the pastor and shake his hand.
The mood in the sanctuary Sunday morning offered a stark contrast to the cloud that in recent months has settled over the mega-church, which has been rocked by allegations of mismanagement and the divorce of its high-profile co-founders, Randy and Paula White.
For months, the church has been beset by financial problems, a downturn in attendance and complaints about the Whites' lavish lifestyles and broken promises. In August, the co-pastors announced they would end their 18-year marriage, shocking supporters who had watched them build Without Walls from a storefront ministry in 1991 to one of the nation's fastest-growing churches by 2005.
Perhaps the most damaging news came this month, when U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, challenged the ministry's nonprofit status and the Whites' opulent lifestyle. He requested detailed financial information about their expensive homes, cars, private jet and plastic surgeries, while launching similar investigations into five other mega-churches.
Last week, White's assistant sent an e-mail to church members saying the pastor would address "the hard issues and allegations that have been reported by the media in recent months." The church's 4,000-seat sanctuary was about 70 percent full at both morning services, compared with the thinner crowds that have been coming recently.
Those expecting White to answer specific questions might have been disappointed, though. He read an article from ESPN.com about an Olympic runner who overcame adversity and preached about the importance of not quitting. At the end of his sermon, White briefly talked about his mistakes and apologized.
"You're human!" someone shouted from the audience.
After the service, church members Ed and Dawn Penn said they would stick by their pastor, no matter what the media reports.
"I don't think there's outright crookedness going on," Ed Penn said. "People say, 'Oh, he drives a luxury car.' Well, we drive a luxury car."
The Penns also said they trusted White to make a good decision about selling the church's North Grady Avenue property. At the Thursday night service, White said he would consider selling the property and moving the church.
White has acknowledged his divorce was finalized a few months ago but refused to say where it was filed, other than "not in Hillsborough County." A search of records where the Whites have other residences - New York, California and Texas - did not show any filings, either. He said the couple prefers to keep the financial details of the split "a private matter."
White told church members Sunday that he will remain in Tampa. Hillsborough records show he paid his ex-wife $1.06 million to buy her out of the Bayshore Boulevard house they bought in 2002 for $2.1 million.
Reporter Michelle Bearden contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
***** THE LATEST ON BROTHER RICK *****
Church's founder defends its finances and his ministry
Web Posted: 11/11/2007 11:59 PM CST
Abe Levy
Express-News
As Family Praise Center geared up Sunday to celebrate its 14th anniversary, its embattled founder and leader, Bishop Rick Hawkins, changed course to make a 10-minute statement from the pulpit defending his ministry record and the church's finances.
Hawkins sought to reassure the congregation in the wake of a WOAI-TV report last week. While apologizing to the faithful for past "sins and mistakes," Hawkins said the story's charges were "full of inaccuracies and fiction" designed to boost TV ratings during "sweeps" week.
Regardless of the report, Hawkins' nondenominational church has been in turmoil in recent years as some members, disappointed in his leadership, departed for other churches. It was further fueled by his divorce in February. His son, Dustin, whom he had designated pastor, was divorced the same month. Their ex-wives no longer attend Family Praise Center, on Loop 410 near Bandera Road.
About that same time, nationally known TV evangelist Paula White of Tampa, Fla., became a regular preacher there, speaking almost monthly and becoming a spiritual mentor to Dustin Hawkins. White, who until recently was pastor of Without Walls International Church, filled Family Praise Center with people who lined up for her book signings and live CD recordings. The center reportedly started with nearly 60 people and now claims to draw up to 3,000 people for weekend services.
White, too, was recently divorced from her husband of 18 years, Randy, who remains bishop of the nondenominational megachurch in Tampa. Citing the Whites' divorce in part, the Tampa Tribune reported Sunday that Without Walls has sustained significant losses in attendance and donations to the point that Randy White says he is struggling to pay the church's bills.
Rick Hawkins is a board member of White's nonprofit PWM Life Center Inc., created in February, according to documents from the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations.
White's blond hair and smiling face was bannered across Family Praise Center's Web site just last week as the featured speaker for the 14th anniversary service. But Sunday, she did not appear because, Hawkins said, he asked her not to in light of the news report.
On Friday, however, White's staff asserted that she didn't cancel but that San Antonio had not been on her itinerary. She did not appear in Tampa on Sunday either.
White is dealing with a request from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, which is looking into the finances of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries. The committee sent her a letter Nov. 5 requesting financial records about her jet travel, a Rolls Royce she gave as a gift and a luxury home she bought near Boerne in August, among other items. Her ministry is one of six nationwide that the committee is reviewing for compliance with nonprofit tax rules. On Sunday, Hawkins began his statement with a sometimes emotional description of finding his favorite dog shot to death "execution-style" at the front door of his house at his Boerne ranch.
"This is out of control. It's not right," he told the audience, choking up at times. "You don't go and start killing stuff. That dog meant a lot to me."
Matt King, chief deputy for the Kendall County Sheriff's Office, confirmed that the incident is under investigation for possible animal cruelty.
"It may have something to do with some of the turmoil he may have been involved with," King said, based on a statement Dustin Hawkins gave deputies.
During Rick Hawkins' remarks about the TV report, he stressed that the church has been "steadfast in our stewardship of the church's funds" and that "payments made to departing employees were made pursuant to established severance policy and with the approval of our board and the oversight of our counsel. While there have been divorces within our church, including my own, those are personal matters and should not be newsworthy."
Hawkins said he has been meeting with unnamed pastors from local churches and other people who feel "estranged" from his church, describing the meetings as "positive and very healing."
"Yes, we are human. We have our failures, our struggles, but we truly do seek the path of righteousness, and we will continue to do so," he said.
WOAI reporter Brian Collister stood by his story as true and said he gave Hawkins up to a dozen opportunities to respond, all of which he declined.
An Express-News reporter attended the 9 a.m. Sunday service at Family Praise Center and asked to interview Hawkins afterward. Will Norris, the church's communications director, said the request was declined and that future attempts to report at the church would be prohibited.
During his statement Sunday, Hawkins cautioned church members "to refrain from participating in negative communication that would only serve to cause harm to the kingdom. Remember, God is our defense." Applause followed.
To show support for Hawkins, the church had made its own videos with testimonials from church members saying they would remain steadfast in their loyalty and enumerated ways they appreciated him.
"Wherever you go, we will go. Whatever you do, we will support it. Whatever you believe, we believe. Whatever you touch, we speak God's blessings and prosperity over it," said a 10-year member in a video testimonial as soft, instrumental music played in the background.
One video production showcased an 11-year-old sermon by Hawkins, quoting him in dramatic fashion with music and archived video clips as saying "You can't stop me. I'm a blessed man."
Sex Scandal Rocks Atlanta-Area Megachurch
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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DECATUR, Ga. — The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch is at the center of a sex scandal of biblical dimensions: He slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her.
Members of Archbishop Earl Paulk's family stood at the pulpit of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church a few Sundays ago and revealed the secret exposed by a recent court-ordered paternity test.
In truth, this is not the first — or even the second — sex scandal to engulf Paulk and the independent, charismatic church. But this time, he could be in trouble with the law for lying under oath about the affair.
The living proof of that lie is 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years was known publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew.
"I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and the families hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and our sinfulness," said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a year and a half ago.
D.E. Paulk said he did not learn the secret of his parentage until the paternity test. "I was disappointed, and I was surprised," he said.
Earl Paulk, his brother, Don, and his sister-in-law, Clariece, did not return calls for comment.
A judge ordered the test at the request of the Cobb County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which are investigating Earl Paulk for possible perjury and false-swearing charges stemming from a lawsuit.
The archbishop, his brother and the church are being sued by former church employee Mona Brewer, who says Earl Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. Earl Paulk admitted to the affair in front of the church last January.
In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer. But the paternity test said otherwise.
So far no charges have been filed against Earl Paulk. District Attorney Pat Head and GBI spokesman John Bankhead would not comment.
The shocking results of the paternity test are speeding up a transformation already under way in the church after more than a decade of sex scandals and lawsuits involving the Paulks, D.E. Paulk said.
"It was a necessary evil to bring us back to a God-consciousness," said the younger Paulk, explaining that the church had become too personality-driven and prone to pastor worship.
The flashy megachurch began in 1960 with just a few dozen members in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. Now, it is in the suburbs on a 100-acre expanse, a collection of buildings surrounding a neo-Gothic cathedral.
For years the church was at the forefront of many social movements — admitting black members in the 1960s, ordaining women and opening its doors to gays.
At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress.
Today, though, membership is down to about 1,500, the church has 18 pastors, most of them volunteers, and the Bible college and TV ministry have shuttered — a downturn blamed largely on complaints about the alleged sexual transgressions of the elder Paulks.
In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration.
The church countered with a $24 million libel suit against seven former church members. The lawsuit was later dropped.
Jan Royston, who left the church in 1992, started an online support group for former members to discuss their crushed faith and hurt feelings.
"This is a cult. And you escape from a cult," she said. "We all escaped."
These days, Earl Paulk has a much-reduced role at the cathedral, giving 10-minute lectures as part of Sunday morning worship each week.
"My uncle is 100 percent guilty, but his accusers are guilty as well," D.E. Paulk said, declining to talk further about the lawsuits.
About that same time, nationally known TV evangelist Paula White of Tampa, Fla., became a regular preacher there, speaking almost monthly and becoming a spiritual mentor to Dustin Hawkins. White, who until recently was pastor of Without Walls International Church, filled Family Praise Center with people who lined up for her book signings and live CD recordings. The center reportedly started with nearly 60 people and now claims to draw up to 3,000 people for weekend services.
White, too, was recently divorced from her husband of 18 years, Randy, who remains bishop of the nondenominational megachurch in Tampa. Citing the Whites' divorce in part, the Tampa Tribune reported Sunday that Without Walls has sustained significant losses in attendance and donations to the point that Randy White says he is struggling to pay the church's bills.
Rick Hawkins is a board member of White's nonprofit PWM Life Center Inc., created in February, according to documents from the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations.
White's blond hair and smiling face was bannered across Family Praise Center's Web site just last week as the featured speaker for the 14th anniversary service. But Sunday, she did not appear because, Hawkins said, he asked her not to in light of the news report.
On Friday, however, White's staff asserted that she didn't cancel but that San Antonio had not been on her itinerary. She did not appear in Tampa on Sunday either.
White is dealing with a request from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, which is looking into the finances of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries. The committee sent her a letter Nov. 5 requesting financial records about her jet travel, a Rolls Royce she gave as a gift and a luxury home she bought near Boerne in August, among other items. Her ministry is one of six nationwide that the committee is reviewing for compliance with nonprofit tax rules. On Sunday, Hawkins began his statement with a sometimes emotional description of finding his favorite dog shot to death "execution-style" at the front door of his house at his Boerne ranch.
--------------------------------------------
Ahhhhh, So Paula IS connected with this church! ummm.....
*** SISTER JAUNITA LATE ON TAXES......AGAIN!...***
Juanita Bynum:
Evangelist Bynum late again on Ware County property taxes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA
Nov. 16, 2007
D. Aileen Dodd www.ajc.com
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National evangelist Juanita Bynum is late on her property taxes again, according to the Ware County tax assessor’s office.
She owes $31,863.39 in property taxes on her sprawling $4.5 million compound in South Georgia.
“They were due yesterday,” said Ware County Tax Commissioner Steve Barnard Friday.
This is the second time in as many months Bynum has missed the deadline for paying the taxes on her 30-acre, lake-view property in Waycross.
Last month, Barnard threatened to auction off the land because of the pastor’s past due bill.
Bynum said the property was purchased to house the headquarters of Juanita Bynum Ministries and the Mt. Olive Country Spa for women seeking pampering, prayer and spiritual guidance. According to Bynum, her lawyers had applied for a tax exemption on the property, but the deadline for the property taxes came before the paperwork was complete. Taxes for that property were paid in mid-October after penalties had been added to the bill. However, the check for $33,000 presented in payment, was not from Bynum, said Barnard Friday.
“It was from New Light Church World Outreach Ministries … out of Houston, Texas,” Barnard said.
Barnard said he did not know why the church paid the bill. He said the money cleared the bank.
A call to New Light’s pastor Dr. I.V. Hilliard of Houston was not returned Friday afternoon.
If Bynum’s new tax bill is not paid today, late fees will begin to accrue at a rate of 1 percent per month — or about $318 — until the debt is paid off.
Another 10 percent penalty — $3,186 — will be added on the tax bill when it becomes 90 days late.
Bynum, who is planning a Valentine’s Day conference to address domestic violence issues, could not be reached for comment. Her publicist Amy Malone said she was unaware that the tax bill was late.
The 48-year-old pastor has accused her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, of beating, choking and stomping her to the ground in an Atlanta hotel parking lot in August.
The couple has since filed for divorce in Gwinnett County.
Weeks, who denies the beating, was charged with felony aggravated assault, terroristic threats and simple battery in connection with the alleged attack.
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Earl Paulk: Sex Scandal Hits Atlanta-Area Megachurch
Not having followed any of these ministries myself, I can say this without fear or favor... many people have built kingdoms to themselves and they are seeing those kingdoms crumble.
__________________ Mrs. LPW
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
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