Subj: Nepotism and Scoundrels
Date: 9/3/03 5:18:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: johndavies_80@hotmail.com (Davies John)
To: r421@aol.com

Nepotism and Scoundrels
In many third world countries practices of nepotism, bribery, kickbacks and favoritism have come to dominate administrative and bureaucratic processes. Due to human nature. it's is not surprising that in many family led or owned Christian ministries in America such as Carpenter's Home Church Inc. favoritism is shown or patronage granted to relatives, just like in other businesses. And many of these relatives are not even qualified to be in the ministry. Other than Senior Pastor Karl Strader none of the so called pastors in CHC graduated from any State approved seminary. In the Assembly of God denominatons, pastors in local churches may be created and appointed at the discretion of the Senior Pastor. Stephen Strader was a senior associate pastor just because he was the pastor's son. And Shane Simons was the Chief Operations Officer and Administrator Director because he was the son in law of the Senior pastor.

South African Pentecostal Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne who became a naturalized American and taught that "sheep needed to be fleeced or they would have too much hair and could not see where they are going.. It was the pastor's job to fleece the sheep had been credited with bringing the laughter revival to America. But from what really happened in Carpenter's Home Church in 1993 and 1994 and its devastating effect on the community including the robbing, raping and murdering of the sheep, was not much of a revival.

Dr Rodney Howard Browne used his influence and powers to raise money at Carpenter's Home Church to buy the senior pastor Karl Strader his much needed second Lincoln Town Car. But when Rodney was requested to use his influence and power to raise money for the unfortunate elderly victims of Dan's Strader, he refused.

Nepotism was also practiced by Rodney who had his parents on the payroll! Rodney's older brother, Gil Howard Browne, who was burnt out in his ministry, was asked by Rodney to move to Tampa and help him with the vision God has given him. "One hundred million souls for Christ over the next 10 years." And Rodney's other brother, Bazil, was also a scoundrel who used a scheme to get rich by enticing other pastors ordained or not to join him - "Come under the covering of River Family Church, and Pastors Bazil Ann Howard-Browne, receive ordination through River Family Church, and as a ministry tithe to RFC." Of course Bazil's ministry the River Family Church would profit from the tithes of all pastors who would join him.

The fact remains that multi-million dollars Family run Evangelistic Ministries in America be it the Hinn's of Orlando, the Straders of Lakeland, the Howard-Browne's of Tampa, the Falwells of Lynchburg, the Brights of Orlando, the Robertson's of Norkfolk, the Roberts of Tulsa, the Copelands of Forth Worth, and the Graham's of Minneapolis are notorious for hiding their total salaries and those of their family members and special friends in their indirect personally owned non- profit religious corporation while they live in palatial palaces like kings and royalty.

Just like with the Bakker's of PTL Club fame personal misconduct, mismanagement, and pillaging of the treasury and misuse of Ministry resources are quite common. Benny Hinn had to flee from Orlando Florida, when the media started to dig into the different scandals in his ministry. The Straders of Lakeland, personal friends of the Jim Bakker, Benny Hinn, Oral and Richard Roberts and Rodney Howard-Browne, went through a major split of Carpenter's Home Church in 1989 when the Straders refused to relinquish the financial control they had on the ministry, the church and its assets.

Unlike Jesus Christ who owned nothing, Televangelists Jan and Paul Crouch who lost their tax exemption for their Trinity Broadcasting Network are definitely not lacking in any material possession. Their home is described as "a palatial estate with ocean and city views and was purchased for around five million dollars. It has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a billiard room, a climate-controlled wine cellar, a sweeping staircase and a crystal chandelier. The three-story, nearly 9,500-square-foot house, has an elevator, also has a six-car garage, a tennis court and a pool with a fountain.

Trinity Broadcasting, established in 1973, has more than 768 TV stations on the air worldwide. The Crouches oversee a $100-million-plus-a-year enterprise. One of the Crouch estates is TBN's ranch in Colleyville, TX, just minutes away from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The 80-plus acre ranch contains eight houses and horse stables, is estimated to be worth about $10 million.

Mind you President Clinton did release his total salary and his personal income tax to the public while Billy and Franklin Graham and their friends do not. But adulterous and lying Bill Clinton seems to have more integrity and accountability than TV Evangelists do in this area?

It seems that all of these family run ministries see the dumb sheep as God sent to be fleeced for their own hidden agenda and growth of their personal kingdom of which they are kings and rule supreme and are not accountable to the public but only to God. But they collect their money from people and not God? And their tax exemption comes from the people and not God? So whom are they fooling? Not God and not the people!