A Successful Ministry

A “Successful Ministry”?

            The chapel speaker, pastor of a large metropolitan congregation (and at that time also president of the SBC), was addressing students at the seminary where I taught. His subject: “How To Be Successful In Ministry.” One of his twelve secrets of success was to “Preach Creatively.” He illustrated by sharing his present sermon series titled, “What Would Jesus Say To Madonna . . .” or “Bill Clinton . . .” or other notable public figures.

            That very week my daughter sent me a long newspaper interview of his son, who was at that time a rising star in the D-FW area. The young minister explained his success was due to “preaching creatively.” “Right now,” he told the reporter, “I am preaching a series that is drawing large crowds entitled: “What Would Jesus Say To Madonna? or Bill Clinton? or other celebrities.”

            When a student in our Ministerial Ethics class asked how father and son could be preaching the same series simultaneously, my first thought was: “The son is probably preaching dad’s sermons!” But I was wrong. Another student brought a new book of sermons, written by a Chicago minister titled: “What Would Jesus Say To . . .?” with pictures of Madonna, Clinton and other celebs adorning the cover.

            Lecture two that week was on plagiarism!

            But that is only the prelude to a never-ending story. A few years later the luxurious home of the famous father was featured in a special magazine section of his metropolitan newspaper titled, “Homes of the Rich and Famous.” City officials noted the mansion was illegally declared exempt from local taxes, and although church lawyers tried to exclude the pastor’s affluent home from taxation, the city ruled otherwise.

            Recently the Sr.-father devoted a sermon to problems he sees with the American tax system, criticizing the President and congressional tax leaders as he advocated several conservative tax proposals, which included several inaccurate claims and old popular emails that had been debunked by FactCheck.org.[1]

            Now comes the most recent story about Jr.

            Our ABC affiliate carried a lengthy “investigative journalism” story about the son, “now pastor of one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the nation.” The reporter noted this minister is “splashy and hip; his message contemporary and cool. His marketing is tops in the world of evangelism, making huge waves with his sermon in 2008 titled ‘Seven Days of Sex’ (preached with a king-size bed on the podium).”[2]

            Yet, concerns are being raised by church members and by church staff—one former associate described it this way: “The lack of accountability, the lavish lifestyle that keeps increasing, while the attendance keeps decreasing.”

            The TV special reported that the church’s chief financial officer was replaced by the pastor’s “personal attorney, business partner, and fishing buddy,” who helped create “a complex series of business transactions, including travel around the country in a French-made Falcon 50 private jet; estimated value, $8.4 million.”

            Parishioners have never been told about the aircraft, staff members are told there is no plane, the pastor declined comment, and “several staff members who have actually been on the plane have denied that there is a plane.” FAA records show that the minister took possession of the jet in 2007, then logged a week-long trip to the Bahamas, and one month later the jet logged a six-day trip to Chetumal, Mexico.

            But it is not just the jet and the international travel that is undercover. News 8 also learned that the pastor’s 10,000 square foot, $1.5 million estate on Lake Grapevine is not listed on the tax rolls in his name, but rather as “Palometa Revocable Trust.”

            Records show that the mega-pastor was paid $240,000 a year parsonage allowance; that’s in addition to a $1 million yearly salary, according to WFAA sources. The inquiry also learned that in 2007, the popular pastor sold the intellectual property of his church’s marketing Web site, CreativePastors, as well as the church’s membership mailing list, to a newly-formed, for-profit company called EY Publishing.

            Today, CreativePastors.com is used to sell the minister’s sermons and books for profit.

            One critic, Ole Anthony of the Trinity Foundation in Dallas asked: “When did the intellectual property, the preaching and the Bible notes and the books—become the property of the pastor? That’s the property of the church.” After three years of monitoring, the Trinity Foundation believes this pastor has fallen into the same trap as other televangelists Anthony has investigated over the years. “They are sanctifying greed, and that’s what’s so evil.”

            SMU law professor Wayne Shaw, a former IRS agent who specializes in tax law, says it’s not unusual for pastors to accrue wealth from church resources. But it must be disclosed and separate from any for-profit business.

            “They’ve been given a very special duty, and they get benefits for getting that special duty, such as tax exemptions, charitable contribution deductions,” Shaw said. “I think it’s owed to the public that there is transparency, that the public sees that there is not something bad going on.”

            The News 8 report stated, “No one is accusing him of breaking any laws, but perhaps he is violating the covenant of honesty with his congregation.” When WFAA asked the pastor specifically if he has a personal jet, his spokesman told the reporter that the senior pastor travels using commercial, charter, and leased aircraft, and that he reimburses the church for any personal trips.

            In addition, the pastor’s spokesman told News 8 “his board approves all spending decisions, and their financial books are audited by an outside accounting firm.”

            But from a Christian ethics point of view, and especially in light of ministerial codes of ethics,[3] it seems obvious that there is a lack of transparency and accountability and an abundance of wealth and opulence.

            Jesus told many parables about the misuse of wealth, the danger of greed, and the love of money. In one he noted, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things possessed” (Lk 12:15).

            If Jesus told this modern story as a parable, might it be titled, “Successful Ministry?”                                                                                                         –J.E.T.

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