THE CHURCH SCANDALS AND DRAMAS CONTINUE...
Why are so many churches, in the US and Aboard, including the mega churches, becoming a mega messes?
Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;…
- Paul the Apostle (Philippians 1:27)
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Conduct,-Proper
PREFACE
COVER NOTES
This is an Editorial. Full disclaimers and disclosures are posted to the end of this article.
Comments, criticisms, corrections and suggestions are always welcome.
SPECIAL NOTE: THIS ARTICLE CRITICIZES AND EXPOSES CORRUPT PRACTICES OF CERTAIN CHURCHES AND PASTORS OR THEIR STAFFS. IT SHOULD, HOWEVER, BE CLEARLY NOTED THAT MANY, MANY CHURCHES AND PASTORS IN THE US AND ELSEWHERE, CONDUCT THEMSELVES IN AN EXEMPLARY MANNER AND ARE FULLY ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE TO THEIR MEMBERS AND TO THE PUBLIC. THESE CHURCHES AND MINISTERS TRULY SERVE THE LORD AND PROVIDE FAITHFUL MESSAGES, COUNSELING, CHARITABLE OUTREACH AND SINCERE PRAYER FOR ALL.
Cover 1. YouTube video c April 2024 from the Black Wealth channel, entitled, “The Dark World of Megachurches.”
In the featured image above, we see Bishop T. D. Jakes, 67, former senior pastor of the Pentecostal Potter House Church in Dallas, Texas; he recently retired after he suffered an apparent heart attack while preaching in that church - turning leadership over to his daughter and son in law. The heart attack may have been a result of the monumental scandals in which the Reverend was reportedly involved, which supposedly included a questionable relationship with P. Diddy. While Diddy went to jail on felony charges, it seems TD just went home.
But why would Bishop Jakes, an experienced minister, get involved with reportedly perverted pop trash like P. Diddy in the first place? And it should be noted that TD is NOT the only major minister in the Mega Church movement to be embroiled in scandal - its becoming increasingly common. Read on…
INTRODUCTION
IS THE CORRUPTION GROWING?
Cover 2. Bing/Google Christianity Today article screenshot of 4/30/2025 featuring a January 2025 article from Christianity Today online magazine article that examines corruption in the Mega Churches. ****One of the main reasons given is listed in the image and asserts many of these churches are personality-driven and that personality is generally the senior pastor. **** If the senior’s got issues, that church will probably have them, too. These churches sometimes lack accountability.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND
According to Britannica, the Pentecostal Movement started in Kansas around 1900, growing out of the Holiness denomination from folks who were disenchanted with traditional religion. It was unique in stressing “speaking in tongues,” as supposedly at the original “Day of Pentecost” in scripture and using the energetic evangelism of street preaching efforts to draw attraction. And this Pentecostal Movement is where the “Word of Faith” doctrine developed and spread, and the World of Faith incorporated views of “The Prosperity Gospel.” And this Prosperity Gospel is very popular to many diverse groups, it has also become a divisive source of contention, as it teaches that if one plants a seed (through a financial donation generally), he or she will be rewarded to a far greater extent by God. This movement also stresses Miracles, which it ties to Faith and moral conduct. (See: Pentecostalism | Definition, History, Beliefs, Speaking in Tongues, & Facts | Britannica”.)
This all seems perfectly reasonable given the biblical support it presents. However, as with any noble movement, it can be and apparently has been richly abused by less than moral individuals.
Over the last century, there have been numerous scandals involving the Evangelicals and its prosperity gospel preachers. We can easily enough recall Jimmy Swaggert and his private trips to brothels while he was criticizing other pastors in his own faith; those who’ve been around for a bit can certainly remember the colorful Rev. Leroy Jenkins and his phony, bacteria filled “Miracle Water,” scandal. Mature Christians are often familiar with Rev. Oral Roberts preaching that “God was going to call him home,” if his viewers didn’t send him $5 million - right quick. (It worked.) Or who can forget the betrayal of the faithful from Rev Robert Tilton’s early 1990s ministry when it was discovered and revealed that his staff were routinely discarding mailed-in prayer requests after ensuring they retrieved any mailed-in dinero!? Yep, Take the money and run! And he did run, even tried changing his name. That was Rob! And despite all the scandals and exposures, this prosperity movement has grown, and many of today’s mega churches follow the prosperity gospel or are closely aligned with it and its emphasis on worldly wealth from the “seed of faith” donations. (Some Mega churches are not involved in the prosperity pap, but many are, and some of the others have major issues of their own - at times involving outrageously pagan or just blatantly silly services as attention gainers or involving the pastoral staff in embarrassing sexual misconduct). Hillsong is one such church.
Figure 1. YouTube video of c May 2024, from the 60 Minutes Australia channel, entitled, “Woman takes Hillsong megachurch to court over indecent assault | 60 Minutes Australia”.
TODAY’S MAHEM AND MONEY-MONKEY BIZ:
In any case, with around 1750 Mega Churches (2000 members or more) in the US alone, serving about 7,000,000 confused but generally affluent morons, the bizarre or corrupt excesses to attract attention and gain ever more money seems endless…and certainly growing…
Figure 2. YouTube video of c 2025 from The Great White Throne channel, entitled, “Mega Church Pastor Crowdsurfs During Service…” (Means he runs off stage and literally jumps his body on top of the ignorant crowd as they rock out to the insanity.)
Figure 3. YouTube Shorts video, undated but recent, from the Jordan Kranda channel, entitled, “The Problem with Megachurch Pastors.” Problem indeed! They say its all about Jesus. But the preacher in this obviously very affluent church, is highlighted, the preacher is applauded, the preacher is even flying! Uh, any room for God here?
Figure 4. YouTube video of June 21, 2024 from the Mike Stories channel, entitled, “Disturbing Megachurch Scandal.”
The video above explores both old and far more recent church scandals, which almost always center around the pastor, the pastor’s spouse, or the pastoral staff (or all the above). Starting with skilled prosperity-pimp, the ever-charming-jive-spewing Joel Osteen and then moving seamlessly through other creeples-from-the-steeples like Robert Tilton and Jimmy-cry-baby-Swaggert, and then Jim and Tammy Baker (of the Pass the Loot club), to the outlandishly and overtly fake “push-‘em-on-their butts-Benny Hinn, and finally to the wealthiest and sleeziest of them all — the still shouting, still slobbering in tongues, still beguiling, Kenneth Copeland - now near 90 and also a near billionaire with jets galore and an ego to match.
…But Ken’s “miracles?” They are simply hilariously absurd until you think of the honest and sincere people he’s hurt - sometimes literally - as the case when he inadvertently knocked over a wheelchair cripple who was, unfortunately. NOT a shill.
…And IMHO, this knuckled head, Copeland, goes around preaching that everyone is a “little god,” with DNA being EXACTLY like Almighty God’s DNA. Yet, there is nothing in scripture that remotely indicates this; from what I’ve read, we are of a sinful and divine nature combined; we are compromised and as we grow, we inevitably sin. God doesn’t have that problem; it’s not in His DNA if He even needs or has DNA. This is the sort of nonsense that stupid people like to hear so they can feel special and important. It’s just one more way charlatans like Copeland get vulnerable folk to give him their money!
Figure 5. YouTube video of c March 2025 from the Anomaly Documentaries channel, entitled, “Kenneth Copeland: Inside the Life of the World's Richest Preacher”.
This video, which criticizes, sometimes unfairly in my view, Copeland for his views on vaccines and on Covid-19, nevertheless contains some legitimate criticism as well, as when Copeland tells his congregation to put their hands on their heads as he then prays for their hair to grow! In another segment, Copeland prays against the Covid-19 virus itself telling it that it is defeated! If the virus had a cerebral cortex he might have made a point to it. The man is plainly laughable. But he laughs all the way to bank - albeit a bit slower these days.
Of course, Copeland, like many other fake ministers in our churches, can always go to his probably un-taxed home as many of these pastors have wisely given to their homes to their churches in order to avoid mortgage taxes - taxes other citizens must pay.
IN CLOSING
The Mega Churches in America serve their community - sometimes with skill and caring, but often with utter indifference and deception. Many of their ministers demand immense donations as “seeds of faith” - implying the seed has more value the more one gives. Jesus never said that; rather, in acknowledging the small gift of the poor, He implied the opposite. Some ministers suggest their congregations, too, can become very wealthy, if only they exercise faith. Some also claim to be conduits for God’s miracles when it’s been shown time and again that they generally are not! And some of these ministers tell their viewers that they will pray for them if they send in requests, but often there are no prayers - they just take in the money and discard the requests. Such ministers deceive and hurt honest citizens, in some cases, very severely. They damage their faith and spread despair. And this conduct is despicable; it should be illegal.
Wake up, folks. Don’t give your time, your support, your money, your sweat, your family’s times, or anything else, to such charlatans and cheats. Find good ministers and churches to support. And there are still plenty of them!
This is an Editorial; this article is written entirely In My Humble Opinion, IMHO. I do or may use references, screenshots, Public Domain or Fair Use, and YouTube video sharing resources, and I try to be fair to all parties - even when quite critical and even when using dramatic descriptions. If you notice an error, please let me know; I’ll check it for accuracy, and if necessary, make an immediate correction and/or public apology. NO UNSUBSTANTIATED ACCUSATIONS ARE INTENTIONALLY MADE AGAINST ANY COMPANY OR PERSON; BUT HONEST QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION ARE ENCOURAGED.
Comments, suggestions, criticisms and corrections are welcome via social media or via my Substack page.
***ON REFERENCES: I DO NOT NECESSARILY ENDORSE OR AGREE WITH EVERYTHING IN EVERY REFERENCE, VIDEO, OR SCREENSHOT WHICH I SHARE. THEY ARE PROVIDED TO ADD INFORMATION, CONTEXT, AND DIVERSE THOUGHT. These references are generally public domain, but I cannot independently verify the accuracy or veracity of all referenced content
Confession: I am a sinner, too. And I’m no better than those I criticize, with the exception that I am at least trying to do the right things. I am also NOT a big biotech or engineering guru; my background is enlisted military and business. So, I’m writing this to help guys and gals who aren’t in the corrupt government, high tech, or pharma biz to understand the prevailing tech or history theory scenarios. Finally, the articles I produce are written in an effort to help us all improve our behavior. Thank you.