The pimps’ defenders usually pronounce the pimps as humble men of God simply going about doing God’s business.

Let’s see, John Jenkins owns at least two Mansions (I won’t even call them McMansions. I’ve been in one and it’s the real thing).

Ken Copeland has a fleet of planes including at least one twin engine, and a couple business jets. And they are all hangared/tied down at his own private airport (4T2 in Texas).

Eddie Long lives in a million dollar house and drives a quarter of a million dollar car (a Maybach).

We won’t even discuss T. Dexter Jakes and his multi-level scams, the helicopter used by the Houston Hustler, and his partner the Hustlerette, or the business jet and tacky mansion owned by Cashflow Dollar (this is a Power Point slide show).

Of course these guys are humble. They’re just greatly blessed by God. Right?

Now we come to more evidence of sanctified humility. A reader (Gayle) pointed out an interesting calendar today. It’s a Noel Jones calendar. It’s a calendar that lets us see the “humility” of these men and women.

Take a look at the advertisement for the calendar.

So let’s see if I understand how this works. If I put a picture of me and my admittedly cut body on a calendar and then tack a Bible quote along the top of each month, it’s a “Christian” calendar.

Maybe I’m just missing it, but what keeps this from being nothing more than beefcake? Admittedly Jones isn’t that young, but other than that I’m not seeing the difference.

So tell me again where Jesus Christ is in all of this?

By the way, it’s too late to get the beefcake calendar for 14.99. After December 13th the price went up to 19.99.

Pulpit Pimps | 44 Comments »

The pimps will tell you you have to have faith, the God kind of faith, to get what you want. If you’re poor, it’s because you’re not exercising the God kind of faith. If you’re sick, it’s because you aren’t exercising the God kind of faith. And of course if you don’t have the job you want, the car you want, the house you want or the spouse you want, it’s because you aren’t exercising the God kind of faith.

By now I’m sure you know this kind of faith isn’t faith at all. It’s a serious twisting of Scripture.

For those of you who are in a Word of Faith church, or any church with a pimp for a pastor, let me assure you there is a way to get out of that particular quagmire (definition #2). And yes, it does require faith. But it requires faith in the creator of the universe and His good intention for your life (assuming of course that you are a Christian and not simply a church goer).

About a week ago, I got an e-mail from a fellow I’m going to call Charlie. That’s not his real name. It seems that not only was he in a church run by a pulpit-pimp (though I suspect a sincere one); he was the pulpit-pimp. But rather than telling you what happened, I’ll let him speak for himself. Here is the content of his e-mail.

Melvin,

I just want to say thank you for your ministry of exposing the pulpit pimps who are deceiving so many. I, at one time, was a pulpit pimp because I was a Word of Faith preacher.

In the 80’s I met a man who was part of Charles and Frances Hunter’s ministry who took me under his wing and became my mentor. I sincerely believed in the prosperity message. I listened to all of the Copeland, Hagin, Sevell tapes, went to their meetings and then turned around and regurgitated all of it in my meetings.

In the late 80’s I attended Lee University and felt lucky to be able to go to Norvel Hayes’ meetings since he was in the same town. But I attended a systematic theology class, at the university, where the professor was thoroughly opposed to the prosperity message. As a result the heresy’s hold on me began to crack.

Though I would be upset by what he said, I began slowly to think critically about the theology I had embraced.

To make a long story short, I finally completely disavowed the word of faith message in the mid-90s while I was in seminary, and to this day I do everything I can to expose the heresy when the opportunity arises.

In 2000, I was pastoring a small country church. One of the pimps came to town and members of the congregation went to a revival with the pimp.

The evangelist even called me a wolf in sheep’s clothing because I went to one of his meetings and he was calling out everyone around me except me. And the reason, I believe he did, was because he knew that I knew. He knew that I saw right through him.

But unfortunately the damage had been done and I spent the better part of the next year standing against those in my church who would have preferred me to leave so they could teach that heresy without impunity. But my wife and I stood strong, while some people left. Fortunately, the church was preserved. I told them that even if meant burning on a stake I would defend the true historic Christian orthodox foundation that the Church has been founded on for centuries.

I know how I was deceived and my heart hurts for the people, or the sheeple, as you say. But I am indignant and angry at the pulpit pimps.

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity in my small circle of influence to defend the faith and will continue to do so.

By the way it was interesting to hear you mention L’enfant Plaza, because I work at the FAA in DC and ride the Metro every day.

Thanks,
Charlie

Again, if you are attending a church that preaches ANY elements of the WoF garbage, get out. Yes, it may be painful and scary at first. But I guarantee you if you exercise faith IN God and His faithfulness to us, you will not regret it.

Get out before you conscience is seared to the point you wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you on the butt.

Pulpit Pimps | 24 Comments »

While I certainly feel a great measure of compassion for his family and the loss to his wife, it seems Oral Roberts has shuffled off this world and has the task of facing the creator of the universe.

When someone dies, most folks try to say nice things about the person. But this is Pulpit-Pimps.org. And unlike my momma, I’ll speak even when I don’t have something nice to say. And when it comes to the pimps, I virtually never have something nice to say.

Oral Roberts, as Jack Hayford has pointed out, was responsible for the growth the Charismatic/Pentecostal movement in the twentieth century. If it hadn’t been for him and a few other men like him, we wouldn’t have such…uh…luminaries as Kenneth Copeland, Frederick K. C. Price, or Creflo Dollar. And those men wouldn’t have been in a position to spawn such pimps as T. Dexter Jakes, Benny Hinn, or Jentzen Franklin. And of course the Jakes contingent of pimps spawned such folks as Joel “Willow Boy” Osteen, Zachary Timms, and yes, even John K. Jenkins.

This is the same Oral Roberts who around 1977 said that the 900 foot tall Jesus he saw in the desert told him to star Oral Roberts University. A relatively short time later, that same Jesus (only much shorter) told him that God would take him from the earth if supporters didn’t send in something like 8 million dollars for the medical center, which ended up closing in 1989.

Given what he has done with respect to damage to the gospel, I can’t sit and call his death a home going. I shudder to think of what he had to face when Jesus sat before him on the Bema seat.

And the frightening thing is that every single one of the pulpit pimps, unless he or she should repent, will face the very Jesus Oral Roberts faced when he closes his eyes for the very last time.

Let me say that again – every single one of the pulpit pimps, unless he or she should repent, will fact the very same Jesus Oral Roberts faced when he closed his eyes for the very last time.

Pulpit Pimps | 42 Comments »

The last posting dealt with a set of men who lie to their congregations and fans. They say if you say “Money cometh!” then you will get rich. They are blatant in their claims that my words can effect the real world in a supernatural way. If I say money cometh, then it will. If I say my feet are killing me, they will. And if I say I’m dying to try a new recipe, I will.

But let’s not forget about men and women who don’t just make stuff up. Let’s also keep in mind the men and women who will use the Word of God, that which is intended to guide us to freedom from bondage, that which is described as truth, to enslave and yes, even impoverish men and women through their false teachings. They are men and women who would enrich themselves and finance a grubby little empire with the money from sheeple (mostly women) who can’t afford to to fix the hoopty they drive, much less finance the pimps’ lifestyles.

Here’s a collection envelop I got from Empowerment Temple (Jamal an’em’s church up in Baltimore).

Jamal does what virtually every pulpit pimp does. He presents a scripture (out of context), appeals to your greed (benefits and rewards), appeals to your fear (the cost of not giving), and announces the action you must take to reap the benefit and dodge the bullet.

And please note, Pimp Jamal doesn’t stop at the tithe. He goes on to hit his flock of sheeple up for an offering which should be given according to your level of prosperity. The more you make, the more you need to give to him…er…to the ministry…that pays him…that buys his cars…and his suits (tacky though they may be).

He then makes an extra step, one I absolutely must admire him for. It shows he has a set of cojones (that’s pronounced KOH HO NAYS) that any scam artist would love to own. It’s vision giving.

For tithing Jamal uses the standard verses – give a tithe from Deut 14:22; avoid the curse from Malachi 3:10 and 11; and how much to give Gen 28:22. But for Vision giving Mr. Bryant truly outdoes himself.

The key scripture? Solomon determines to build a temple and a palace (2 Chronicles 2:1) Would you care to explain to me the connection between Solomon and the Church? Or maybe the temple and a structure the local church may decide to meet in? Jamal takes a verse and builds it into a mandate that he can use to spiritually browbeat the members of his church.

And what, according to the back of the envelop, are the reason and purpose for giving? Well, Proverbs 3:9-10 of course! But actually, I suspect Jamal got the text wrong. It actually says:

Proverbs 3:9-10
9 Honor the Lord from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.

So let’s see. Assuming he actually meant this verse, if I give money to build a new church building, my barns will be filled with plenty and my vats will overflow with new wine. But since I don’t own any barns and I don’t produce wine, it’s not going to do me much good to get those filled. Wait, I just realized I don’t own any cattle and I don’t grow crops either. All I produce on my job is tech manuals, requirements documents, and procedures. Does that mean I should give these things, you know, in place of a bunch of wheat, corn, and barley?

And now that I think of it, what does Solomon, a fellow who was given permission to build the temple, have to do with me? David collected all the resources for the temple (1 Chronicle 28:2,3) but he was told not to build it. Solomon was told that he was to build the temple. So should I consider myself to be David or Solomon?

If I consider myself likened unto Solomon the king, then does that means the vision offering should also go to have a house built for me? Or is it more likely the vision offering will go to have a house built for Jamal? From what I know of Jamal, I suspect it’s the latter.

Of course if I don’t give something to the vision offering, that means there will be no vision. And that means – you guessed it: Without a vision the people perish. Jamal has demonstrated that he is either a master con willing to take advantage of relatively foolish followers, or he has invested in an exhaustive concordance. How else would he have been able to build a faulty connection between his bogus Vision Offering and people perishing for lack of a vision?

Jamal may have studied at Oxford (for summer school) but he still has the cunning and instincts of a pimp. He is willing to say anything to convince his victims they must give to him. And when they are disappointed by the results, it’s because they don’t have the faith they should. Like the abuser in any other environment, the pimp blames the victim - and continues to abuse his victim until the victim walks away.

Pulpit Pimps | 10 Comments »

This site is here to warn the sheeple about the wolves and pimps that are out there waiting to take their money and feed them spiritual poison. I have reported on many of them, giving your their names and making sure you know what they look like. Although from the looks of it, the sheeple seem to revel at wallowing in the spiritual muck.

The site still gets comments from some of the sheeple warning us not to speak ill of the pimps because they are God’s anointed, or because these bozos are apparently men of God who are just doing what God wants them to do.

A reader called my attention to a YouTube video of Leroy “Linguisitcally Challenged” Thompson and his antics. And as a reward, we even get to watch Cashflow Dollar as he conspires with Leroy in leading an entire flock astray.

Did you notice the money thrown on the steps? Care to bet whether or not they use a lame comparison to stuff being laid at the feet of the Apostle?

And please notice, the church is not some ramshackled storefront. It appears to be a building of some substance. Yet these people are foolish enough to give this man and his fellow pimp, a boat load of money.

You have to wonder if Leroy and Cashflow are punishment to the Body for being willing to give attention to things that are contrary to the Word.

By the way, how many people do you think will write in to defend these two pimps?

Dr. Creflo Dollar, Pulpit Pimps | 47 Comments »

This is the last time addressing the building of monuments - for a while anyway. After this, I’ll get back to the unmitigated, living large, take your money pimps.

A reader pointed me to yet another fellow who wants to raise a monument to himself.

Below is a new mausoleum being raised in North Carolina. Actually, it’s an animated architectural rendering of the new mausoleum.

Care to make any guesses on how many people are actually being discipled (as opposed to being stacked up like cord wood in the pews)?

Again I will say that there is nothing INTRINSICALLY wrong with a large structure. But I’m just not seeing the purpose behind the big gaudy buildings these fellows are putting up. If they’re going to insist on doing homeless care and stuff, why not put the money there and just build a prefab steel structure for worship and study. It can’t be done, you say? I disagree.

Here’s a church that did exactly that. It’s a Reformed Presbyterian church in Bowie. As they grew, they built this structure and moved out of the dance studio at the YWCA.

The structure has classrooms and an auditorium/knave. The last time I was in there, they hadn’t installed permanent seats and the auditorium served multiple purposes.

If I remember correctly, the cost of the building was less than $300K. And that was because the building is functional not showy.

Am I saying everybody has to have the same kind of building or that everybody should spend the same amout of money? Not at all. Calvary Chapel has a huge congregation in Costa Mesa California. But apparently they do work at discipling the members. Grace Community, also in California, has a large congregation. But they focus on real discipling. I’m saying the money you bring in should be for promoting the Gospel and for building up the local body, not building up the local infrastructure. You don’t need a cathedral to present the Gospel. And you don’t need an impressive (or tacky, depending on your tastes) mausoleum to disciple.

Jesus wasn’t particularly impressed with the Temple in Jerusalem. You shouldn’t be impressed with the monuments to the pimps either. Instead, be impressed with the job your pastor does at building up the body and equipping you to build up each other. Everything else will burn up at judgment.

One last thing: How many big buildings do you think would go up if these guys had to pay property taxes on the buidlings and the land?

Christian Living, Pulpit Pimps | 20 Comments »