Uuh Ooh!!! Is Paula White's Ministry Unraveling??? Read This!!!

[Thad]

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB9CH2XW1F.html



ummmmmm !



opinions are welcome !

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

An anti-church rant for sure....

Steven List remembers the early days, when the ***** began their church in a storefront. His Seattle-based organization, International Support Ministries, served as a mentor of sorts, giving guidance and spiritual input.

"They had nothing but a few hundred dollars, that's when I knew them," he said.

That has changed.
*****, including its Lakeland campus and ****** broadcast ministry, took in $35 million in tithes and offerings last year, according to a recent audit by Lewis, Birch & Ricardo CPAs.

The audit was posted online last week - the first public accounting in the church's history - after The Tampa Tribune requested a copy.

How much of the revenue goes to the ******, the couple won't say. The audit lists more than $5.5 million in salaries for 2006. The church declined to say how many employees were on the payroll.

In January, the couple arrived for a service in their blue Mercedes sedan. They entered the sanctuary, a former warehouse at 2511 N. Grady Ave., watched over by a security contingent of solemn, beefy men wearing sunglasses and communication devices. Surveillance cameras kept watch from all corners.

"We deal with a lot of people coming out of a dark part of society," Randy explained later. "We have to be careful."

An assistant pastor took the stage first and talked about the importance of tithing, about how God's law directs members to give a certain percentage of income to the church.

"Tithe is 10 percent of your gross income, not your net," Randy has reminded congregants.

On this night, a contemporary band pumped up the volume, and the mood in the pews became jubilant. Staff passed the collection plates. Some in the congregation jumped up and down with excitement. A few sobbed. The plates filled with cash and envelopes.

Then ************************* - golden hair, bronzed skin and bright-white smiles - stepped briskly to the stage. She wore a businesslike suit; he wore jeans and an untucked black shirt. The cheers and applause swelled to rock-star adoration.

The church is "like what heaven must be like," member Shantae Thomas, 36, said later. The registered nurse from Riverview said her pastors are "true shepherds who hear straight from God" and set an example of Christian service to the congregation.

"It's all about the word. It's all about the Bible," she said.

The couple told the crowd to rejoice that they had come on a special night; the ****** have gotten so busy, they rarely preach together anymore.

The collection plates were passed for three more offerings, one specifically "for the pastor."

[Thad]

Boomm

what do you mean " an anti -church rant " ???


are you with Paula white on this one ?

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Originally Posted by Thad

Boomm

what do you mean " an anti -church rant " ???


are you with Paula white on this one ?

The Author of that article if in your church would go on how the musicians all drove new cars.....

[Thad]

Originally Posted by BoredOutOfMyMind

The Author of that article if in your church would go on how the musicians all drove new cars.....

I've never heard of a jouralist doing a story on just that alone.

It usually beomes a story when there is opulance at a stardom level

[Praxeas]

Are they Catholic? Nice robe and sash "Bishop"

[Praxeas]

Such a designated collection is not unusual in megachurches, said R. Drew Smith, scholar in residence at the Leadership Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
"They [megachurches] seem to operate out of the corporate paradigm, where pastors are treated more like CEOs," Smith said.

BINGO! Exactly what I thought. And they are talking about opening up a new church/business in Malibu to the "Movers and shakes in hollywood"..

[Praxeas]

The trappings are physical as well. Both the Whites have undergone cosmetic surgery, seeming to grow younger over the past five years.
"We're on television, and you've got to look the part," Randy said.

So much for "church"

[Praxeas]

Randy seems to relish the role of funky, flawed and edgy preacher. He admits that he doesn't pray before meals, bears several tattoos and enjoys wine. He said strip club owner Joe Redner should have been elected to the Tampa City Council in November ("He would have been good for this city"), and his gun collection includes an AK-47 automatic weapon.

[Praxeas]

In January 2005, he was featured on the cover of Makes and Models Magazine, a glossy publication devoted to exotic cars, motorcycles and scantily clad female models. Associate editor Rodney Burrell, then a church member, wrote a glowing story about Randy called "Riding for Souls." Although putting Randy on the cover - he stood posed next to his wife's Mercedes SL55, valued at more than $100,000 - was Burrell's idea, the church had to buy $7,500 worth of magazines for the privilege.

The CHURCH had to buy $7500 worth of mags???? Good grief