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Who's Who Digest
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Thumbnail profiles of influential individuals
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Co-author of the hugely-successful Left Behind series of books, which fictionalize LaHaye's speculations regarding End Time prophecy. Since La Haye was a well-known author and speaker before publication of this series, many readers may be unaware that his role in production of the books has not been one of "writer," but merely "consultant." Jerry B. Jenkins, listed on the book jackets as co-author, has really done the actual nuts and bolts of the creative process that resulted in the series. As the FAQ on Jenkins' own website puts it:
http://www.jerryjenkins.com/faqs.html#LB7
How do Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye work together? Who writes what?
The book series was Dr. Tim LaHaye's idea. He asked Jerry Jenkins to write a series of novels to fit his view of the End Times. And that's exactly what Jerry did. Dr. LaHaye is the biblical expert and prophetic scholar and Jerry Jenkins is the author who writes the books.Prior to involvement with the Left Behind series La Haye was most famous as a Christian motivational author and speaker on family living and emotional and psychological well-being topics, frequently collaborating in books and speaking engagements with his wife Beverly. Beverly La Haye, an individual author of a number of books in her own right, has also had her own outreach ministries which have included anti-abortion advocacy, promoting various pro-family causes, and hosting an award-winning talk show in the 1990s. Tim La Haye has also authored a number of non-fiction books emphasizing his own prophetic speculations.
Many of La Haye's teachings in all of these areas, as well as the theological and Biblical foundation of the Left Behind series of books and movies, have been controversial for a long time. The book series is based on a conviction regarding what is called the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, which is not accepted by many Bible students and teachers. And many of his writings regarding psychological topics, such as his 1966 book Spirit Controlled Temperament, are viewed by some critics as attempts to wed unproven secular psychological theories with Biblical concepts in ways that are not theologically sound.
A detailed overview of the history of La Haye's career, with an examination of some of the controversial areas of his teachings can be seen at the Biblical Discernment (BDM) website at:
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/lahaye/general.htm
The author of this Field Guide Who's Who Digest does not necessarily agree with all of the doctrinal positions of the authors of the BDM site, including their approach to the validity of the theory of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Nor should inclusion of the website address be considered an endorsement of all of the opinions stated on the website. But the documentation regarding LaHaye's ministry in this overview may be useful to the reader who wishes to know more about what LaHaye does teach and practice.
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Brothers who originally became notable in the End Times Prophecy movement as hosts of their television show, This Week in Bible Prophecy, on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. They were also authors of a number of books on prophetic themes. They left behind their TV career to branch out into motion picture production. Their "Cloud Ten Productions" studio has now made several "Christian" movies, including bringing the first of the Left Behind (Tim La Haye and Jerry Jenkins) books to the big screen.
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Pentecostal/Charismatic evangelist and author specializing in the topic of prayer and "spiritual warfare." Lea is the founder and former pastor of the Church on the Rock of Rockwall, Texas and former dean of the school of theology at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He first came to national prominence in the 1980s via publicity in the media regarding his evangelistic crusades emphasizing "coming against territorial spirits" in metropolitan areas.
In October 1990, Lea organized a crusade in San Francisco, sponsored by Jubilee Christian Center of San Jose and its pastor Dick Bernal, to be held beginning Hallowe'en evening. Plans at first included a march by up to 10,000 Christians through the streets of San Francisco, in a show of resistance to what they believed to be the rulership of the supernatural demonic "strongman" over the area. Warned by local authorities and other Christian organizations that this might lead to unpleasant or dangerous physical confrontations with other groups marching in the area that night, the plans were changed to hold all rally activities completely indoors at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. A news interview at the time noted:
http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/witchhou.htm
"Larry and I are beginning to look like a couple of wackos," says Bernal. "The misconception is that we're a bunch of narrow-minded goody-two-shoes. San Francisco's a city where everybody has parades; I wanted our people to be a presence, too. We weren't going to call down fire on anybody; it was not going to be a confrontation, just a little show of force.
"But the war on Satan will go on - inside the auditorium. There won't be any pussy-footing around," Bernal promises. "There'll be singing, preaching and speaking in tongues. It'll be wall-to-wall spiritual warfare."
Bernal, a former ironworker and self-described hell-raiser who says he was born-again a dozen years ago, has gained some fame himself as a televangelist and spiritual warrior.
After the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, Bernal traveled to Beijing and in a much-publicized ceremony, annointed the stones of the square with oil to drive the devil out. He also has prayed to cast the devil out of several sites in the South Bay, including the San Jose Mercury News. "
There are no records to show that this "spiritual warfare rally" had any lasting affect at all on the San Francisco area. But there was one significant result from the crusade-- the alleged conversion of a man named Eric Pryor, who claimed at the time to be a witch and an influential force within the occult movements of America. Pryor had come to public attention just before the crusade by claiming to be organizing a counter-demonstration to Lea's efforts. Yet within days, he became a member of Bernal's congregation. For the next few years, Lea used Pryor's amazing conversion story as part of his ministry efforts. And Pryor went on to become a regular speaker on the Spiritual Warfare circuit within the Charismatic movement.
Lea continued his efforts during the following year, which included more crusades and his own regular television show. Then on November 21, 1991, the ABC show PrimeTime with Diane Sawyer ran an investigative reporting piece on several televangelists, including Larry Lea.
Here's how one article about televangelism in 1994 summed up the show and its aftermath for Lea:
CRI Christian Research Journal Fall 1994
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/crj0188a.txt
Lea's most embarrassing moment may have been when ABC ran videotape of the televangelist persuading viewers that when his house burned to the ground he was left virtually homeless, losing everything he and his family had but the clothes on their backs. When Prime Time cut to Lea's other, unmentioned home -- a mansion filled with furniture and other valuables -- his fate was sealed. Donations dropped off, churches canceled his appearances, and for many Lea became persona non grata.
His ministry crippled and floundering in up to $800,000 in debt, Lea left Tulsa and in February [1994] assumed the pastorate of friend Jerry Barnard's Christian Faith Center in La Mesa, California. According to staffers at Barnard's office, Lea's organization -- now called "The Prayer Ministry" -- is on the rebound and looking like "the old Larry Lea."
In an April appeal letter, the unrepentant evangelist reminds his followers of "the horror of the 'Prime Time' television program that ABC-TV aired nationwide" and "the lies and distortions about me and about our ministry that they spoon-fed to an unsuspecting American public." Lea describes a prophecy in which Pentecostal leader Jack Hayford compared him to the biblical Joseph, condemned to languish in "a prison of disbelief" in North America for two years.
For Lea, the predicted release came in February at the "National Conference on Prayer & Spiritual Warfare" in Anaheim, California. At the conclusion of Lea's message, Fuller Seminary church growth specialist C. Peter Wagner unexpectedly approached Lea on the platform and, "as a representative of the Body of Christ," asked the stunned televangelist to forgive the church for believing Satan and his "false reports."
In the words of the appeal letter, "IT'S A NEW DAY....the headline over our ministry is now the same as the headline over Joseph's life: FALSELY ACCUSED, FULLY EXONERATED....We've been set free from the chains of disbelief and confusion that have sought to bind our ministry here in North America!" Lea then summons his "worldwide Prayer Army" to give to "Operation Goliath," his debt-reduction campaign, urging them to "obey the Lord" even if He impresses them to give "an amount that seems impossible."
Unfortunately, the record does not show at all that Lea's record was "fully exonerated."
Another issue brought to light by the PrimeTime program was the conversion of Pryor. The report alleged that there were many questions about the credibility of Pryor's claims about his past, as well as the circumstances surrounding his "conversion" and his later connection to Bernal's church. Details of this saga can be seen at the following links. Included are details of a phony "marriage ceremony" performed at Bernal's church in which Pryor and his live-in lover were supposed to become man and wife. Yet at the time, Pryor was still legally married to a former wife. More questions involved Pryor's financial windfall from going around giving his "testimony," and the denial by those involved in such groups as Wicca that Pryor ever had any influence in any Wiccan, occult or New Age movement in the US.
One report from that time period gives evidence of the reason for concerns about the financial matters:
The "PrimeTime Live" report also cited a Herb Caen column in the San Francisco Chronicle saying Pryor made $100,000 last year. Pryor vigorously denies it, maintaining that he's only virtually penniless. His only sources of income, he says, are "love offerings" from the church and people moved my his preaching - as well as sales of "From Pagan to Pentecost," a $25 video version of his purported transformation. He gets $3 in royalties per sale.
Pryor also says he spends one day a month passing out money to homeless people and inviting them to listen as he spreads the word. "I do this because I've been there and I care," he tells them, "and this is my way of serving the Lord I call king of my life, Jesus."
As Pryor is making his case, Bernal enters the room to offer his support. At the same time, however, the minister clearly is taken aback by Pryor's flashy attire, extravagant jewelry and Rolex watch. "You're supposed to be penniless," Bernal says with a chuckle, "and you're sitting here dressed like a riverboat gambler."
Later, Pryor explains that his watch, gold chains, and bejeweled rings - some real and some fake - are all simply more "love offerings."
Whatever the ultimate truth about the situation at the time, things went downhill for Pryor from that point on:
http://www.pfo.org/francisfrangipane.htm
"Yet, the Pryor saga gets worse. While Pryor was receiving up to $20,000 per appearance he was arrested in 1994 for spousal abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Shortly after, he went back to drugs and the occult. In October 1998, Pryor, the wife beating occultist, was charged with battery, spousal abuse, and being under the influence of narcotics. Pryor is a habitual batterer and criminal."
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.05.98/mpnews4-9844.html
November 1998 Silicon Valley Metro:
"Pryor's situation started heading south, so to speak, on October 24--just a few days after a Metro interview in which he professed to have returned to Satanism after an eight-year stint preaching at San Jose's Jubilee Christian Center. That evening Pryor and his wife had an argument in the communal home where they live in the Santa Cruz mountains. When the argument moved into the hallway and Pryor began shoving and hitting his wife, according to witnesses, tenant Barbara Abbot intervened. She says Pryor ripped her glasses off and stepped on them, and she beat a hasty retreat back to her room.
When she came out later to retrieve them, she says, Pryor threatened to kill her and kicked her in the leg and in the groin, leaving bruises. And the next morning, Abbot says, while she was making lunch in the communal kitchen, Pryor told her never to come between him and his wife and said, "I will slit your throat."
Deputy Christine Swannack responded to Abbot's call at about 2pm on Sunday afternoon and arrested Pryor on charges of battery, spousal battery, and being under the influence of narcotics--most probably heroin, according to her report, as well as alcohol.
Four years ago, while still at Jubilee, Pryor did time in the Santa Clara County jail after a violent fight with his then-wife Sarah, in which he threatened to slice her face up with an eight-inch knife so no one else would "want" her. That marriage ended, and Pryor is back with his first wife. "
In spite of the enthusiasm expressed in the 1994 Larry Lea letter above, the set-backs to Lea's ministry started by the PrimeTime expose' led to continued deterioration of the ministry and his family life. This led to a divorce from his first wife in 1999 after 26 years of marriage. He married again three years later. Lea no longer has a television program or an extensive Internet presence. The website of Larry Lea ministries seems to just offer his books for sale, without even a schedule for speaking engagements. And the website of Jerry Barnard's ministry no longer shows any direct involvement by Larry Lea.
For more details on the Pryor story:
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/10.29.98/pryor-9843.html
The Witch Who Switched back. October/November 1998 Silicon Valley Metro paper online
In Charisma magazine, 1988, Lea was quoted making the following assertion:
"Several years ago one of my dear pastor friends said, "Larry, when I was praying for you the other day, I had a vision. I saw you with great big 'Mickey Mouse' ears. Everything else about you looked normal except for those elephant-sized ears. When I asked the Lord to tell me what the vision meant, the Spirit of the Lord spoke back to me and said: 'Larry Lea has developed his hearing. He has developed his spiritual ears."
(Quoted from Charismatic Chaos by John F. MacArthur, p. 67, citing Larry Lea, Are You A Mousekateer, as published in Charisma, August 1988, 9)It would appear that Larry Lea's friend was in error and not "hearing" from the Lord at all to arrive at his interpretation of his "vision". For the fruit of Lea's ministry from that point on in time shows very little evidence that Lea had the sort of spiritual discernment that such Big Ears would indicate.
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The first "Messianic Jewish" teacher, author and TV evangelist widely accepted in Protestant circles. Has had his own TV show since the 1970s. Shares lessons on such topics as "Christ in the Passover." Is not a "Torah observant Messianic"—one who still adheres to the requirements of Jewish law. Takes the approach of most of those Jews involved in such evangelical Protestant outreach groups as Jews for Jesus—retaining some Jewish cultural trappings and family traditions, but, for instance, observing Christmas.
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End Times Prophecy pundit, author of the all-time best-selling prophetic speculation book The Late Great Planet Earth ( © 1970). In spite of the fact that almost none of the specific dogmatic speculations of that book panned out (including the "end" coming in 1988 since that was 40 years since the birth of modern Israel) as he speculated, he has written many more prophetic speculation books since then. And in spite of the fact that almost none of the specific dogmatic speculations of those books have panned out as he speculated, he continues to be widely honored in many religious circles as a prophetic speculation expert, and continues to issue almost all his opinions dogmatically. There is no accounting for why such failures at prophetic speculation are considered "credentials" for such pundits. He has his own regular prophetic speculation news show on TBN ("International Intelligence Briefing"), has a website humbly called "hallindseyoracle.com", and is a regular guest speaker on religious TV shows and for Prophecy conventions.
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Webauthor of the Beth Emet website, which appears at first, with it's headline "Returning to the Faith of Yeshua (Jesus)," to promote a standard "Hebrew Roots of Christianity" perspective. But further reading clarifies that Lyons is totally opposed to the New Testament, claims it was a concoction of the early Roman Catholic Church, and that we can have no clear picture of the "Historical Jesus" at all since all the records about Him are, according to Lyons, hopelessly corrupt.
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Former Roman Catholic Dominican Priest who is a well-known leader in both the Healing Ministries movement and the Deliverance Ministry movement. MacNutt evidently left the priesthood some time back under a special dispensation which allowed him to marry and yet still be in good standing as a layman in the Roman Catholic Church. But his current ministry efforts are totally ecumenical, and he often appears with and endorses teachers from many Protestant Pentecostal and Charismatic healing and deliverance ministries. He is on the Board of Trustees of the "International Charismatic Bible Ministries." The Chairman of the Board of Trustess of the ICBM is Oral Roberts, and other trustees include Benny Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Morris Cerullo, Rodney Howard Browne, and many other well-known hyper-charismatic teachers. MacNutt has particularly noted that he considers Kathryn Kuhlman to have been a major mentoring influence for his own efforts.
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Former member of the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W Armstrong. Now has his own small Canadian ministry called Patriots of the Kingdom. Has a very small following, evidently mostly spreading his material through email and unsolicited mailings of ministry literature to addresses gathered from other Sabbatarian Church of God publications. Main claim to fame in exWCG circles is his assertion that the weekly Sabbath is not from sunset to sunset, but only from sunrise to sunset on Saturday. Claims special prophetic insight into the exact time of Christ's return: From a 2000 POTK newsletter (asterisks added to point out most significant claim)—
"While I hope the information provided will convince you that Christ expects us to "know the day and the hour", my status or skill at writing is not the issue. What is of primary importance, is your submission to the Holy Spirit, and your diligence in studying God's Word, without the prejudice of previous opinions, coloured by their source. When you have PROVEN where the place of safety is, HOW God will punish the wicked, and know the events to take place on the "Day of the Lord," KNOW without question the right day and time to keep Passover, and how to "count Pentecost" then and only then, are you ready to accept and PROVE the countdown to the triumphant return of Jesus Christ. For us to TELL YOU would be merely "spiritual titillation" inviting mockery by scoffers.(II Peter 3:3, Matt.7:6) ***If you study with us***, I am confident the Holy Spirit will in time, reveal it."
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Deceased founder of the Christian Research Institute, and author of Kingdom of the Cults, probably the most widely-read book on non-mainstream Christian religious groups. The CRI under the leadership of Martin, and now under the leadership of Hank Hanegraaff, has been a leading investigator and documenter of the teachings and activities of such groups. Martin's definition of "cult" was not the same as that used in this Field Guide. He emphasized mostly "doctrinal orthodoxy" in evaluating religious groups. Thus even if a group used extreme methods of control, and indulged in spiritual abuse, if the leadership promoted standard historical Christian theology it would likely not be subject to scrutiny as a possibly spiritually unhealthy organization. However, since a large proportion of those groups investigated by CRI actually have indulged in questionable tactics in attracting and keeping followers, much of the research of the organization has been helpful even to those who do not share the exact same perspective on what constitutes sound Biblical doctrine. In general, the documentation provided by CRI appears to be objective, and it is quite easy to sort out the specific facts under consideration from the subjective opinions and evaluation of the CRI authors.
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Founder and CEO of the Promise Keepers Movement. Former University of Colorado football coach. Member of James Ryle's Vineyard congregation.
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(1890-1944) Flamboyant Pentecostal woman evangelist, played significant part in the history of the Healing Ministries Movement. Founder of the Pentecostal denomination International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Involved in a major scandal in 1926. Here is how one website summarizes the incident, which pretty well lines up with most historical accounts:
McPherson, a radio evangelist whose eloquence and showbiz flair drew thousands to her Los Angeles temple every week. When not giving sermons, "Sister Aimee" liked to swim. On May 18 [1926], leaving her secretary on the beach, she swam out into the ocean and didn't come back. There was a huge uproar. A massive search failed to turn up the body. The newspapers churned out extras as ten thousand followers kept vigil on the shore.
Rumors swirled. Some said she hadn't drowned but had been eaten by a sea monster; others said the whole thing was a publicity stunt. She was sighted more times than Elvis—16 times in one day, in locations all over the country. The coroner refused to issue a death certificate. On June 20, McPherson's mother received a ransom note from "the Avengers" demanding $500,000.
Three days later the evangelist showed up in Agua Prieta, Mexico, just across the border from Douglas, Arizona. She told a bizarre story. She had been wading in the surf when a couple lured her into their car with a story about a dying child. She was chloroformed, driven to a two-room shack in the desert, and held there by two men and a woman. A few days later the men left, then the woman announced she was going into town for supplies. McPherson cut her bonds on the jagged lid of a five-gallon syrup can. Once free, she walked across the desert for 17 hours before collapsing inside the gate of a house.
But the story was fishy. The shack she'd described could not be found. Despite her supposedly lengthy trek, she was not dehydrated or sunburned, and her dress showed no signs of sweat. Her shoes weren't scuffed or worn except that she had somehow contrived to get grass stains on them in the desert. She was wearing a watch given to her by her mother that she hadn't taken to the beach, and so on. The cops searched halfheartedly for the kidnappers while hundreds of reporters tried to figure out what McPherson had really been up to. Soon it was reported that she had spent ten days in the seaside resort town of Carmel, California, with Kenneth Ormiston, her radio engineer, with whom she was thought to be having an affair.
A grand jury hearing on the kidnapping turned into an interrogation of McPherson. A woman claimed she had been bribed by McPherson and her mother to say that she, not the evangelist, had been with Ormiston in Carmel. Despite McPherson's protestations that she was an innocent victim, she was indicted for obstruction of justice, along with Ormiston and others. The story filled the newspapers for months and became an embarrassment for Los Angeles civic leaders. Finally William Randolph Heart's Examiner reported that the district attorney was dropping the charges. The DA declared he was doing no such thing but eventually took the hint, saying the evidence was too confused to permit prosecution.
What really happened? The story doesn't make sense any way you look at it. McPherson's kidnapping yarn was silly, but if all she wanted was a tryst with Ormiston there were a dozen easier ways to have one than faking an abduction. I've yet to hear a persuasive account of the whole mess. McPherson returned to preaching but remained a controversial figure for the rest of her life, dying of a sedative overdose in 1944.
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Formerly a high-ranking minister in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) under founder Herbert W Armstrong (HWA). Merdith attended Armstrong's Ambassador College as a young man, was ordained as an "evangelist rank minister" by Armstrong upon graduation in 1952, and served in numerous capacities at the church's Headquarters in Pasadena for many years. These included writing extensively for the Plain Truth magazine and other church publications, and eventually positions of administration over other ministers. At one time he was believed to be in line, right after Herbert Armstrong's son Garner Ted, to inherit leadership of the WCG if something happened to the elder Armstrong. But he fell out of favor with HWA before Armstrong's death. Thus, even though Garner Ted Armstrong had been put out of the WCG several years before HWA's death, Meredith never achieved the position of top leadership to which he evidently believed he was entitled.
HWA died in 1986, and was succeeded as dictatorial leader of the WCG by Joseph Tkach, Sr., who in short order began dismantling the doctrinal base of the church. In the early 1990s, Meredith left the organization and founded his own rival group, the Global Church of God (GCG), which restored all of the doctrines of HWA. Although some ministers and members who joined his group were hoping for a more "collegial" style of church leadership, Meredith obviously intended to re-create the one-man rule that was HWA's policy. By 1998 a struggle for leadership within the GCG led Meredith to pull out and form another split, which he dubbed the "Living Church of God". Once again he was the undisputed leader. The Living Church of God, with several thousand members throughout the world, supports Meredith's evangelistic efforts through the Tomorrow's World magazine and television show.
Meredith was famous in the WCG for the bombastic and dogmatic way he wrote and spoke about Bible Prophecy, as well as a number of controversial areas such as race relations. Articles by Meredith in the Plain Truth in the mid-1960s promoted the idea that God had ordained racial segregation in the Bible.
Here are samples of Meredith's pronouncements from the 1960s, during a time when Herbert Armstrong was dogmatically declaring that Christ would return to earth in 1975, and that the WCG's members would be taken to a "place of safety" by 1972 where they would ride out the worst years of the "Great Tribulation."
"Frankly, literally dozens of prophesied events indicate that this final revival of the Roman Empire in Europe-and its bestial persecution of multitudes of Bible-believing Christians-will take place within the next seven to ten years of your life!"
(The Plain Truth, Feb. 1965, p. 48.)"Bible prophecy indicates that the final attack on the U.S. and Britain by this coming 'Beast' power could easily be launched perhaps as early as the spring of 1972-or earlier ...."
(The Plain Truth, May 1965, p. 45.)"After 1965, we are destined to run into increasing trouble with the Gentile nations. America and Britain will begin to suffer from trade embargoes imposed by the brown and oriental races.... We will begin to experience the pangs of starvation and the scarcity of goods!"
(The Plain Truth, August 1957)"You might as well wake up and FACE FACTS! The world you live in won’t be here 15 years from now!"
(The Plain Truth, December 1963)In spite of the fact that none of these predictions turned out to be true, Meredith to this day continues to make similar dogmatic predictions:
http://www.ambassadorwatch.co.nz/meredith.htm
We are going to be spanked by the Great God [spanking is a recurrent theme with Rod]… World War III is coming up… I am God’s servant and God’s witness… I myself, Mr. Ames and others, may be killed or martyred… We are at that time now… We are entering the last generation… those under 20 years of age are undoubtedly living in the last complete generation of this world’s society. (Tomorrow's World broadcast, 2001, "Is this the last generation." )
More quotations and more details regarding the history of Meredith's ministry can be seen at the link above.
Founder (1960s) and authoritarian head of the Assemblies of Yahweh denomination. Publishes the Sacred Name Broadcaster magazine and uses a shortwave radio tower to disseminate his Sacred Name Broadcast radio program around the world.
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One of the most influential women Word Faith teachers. Offers common sense advice and her own personal inspirational approach to healing emotions and relationships, but unfortunately mixes them with hard-core Word Faith doctrinal teachings. Disseminates her teachings via the Life in the Word radio and TV broadcasts, many audio tape collections, and numerous books.
An excellent in-depth four-part series of investigative reports regarding the history and activities of Meyer's ministry can be seen at the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper's website at:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/joycemeyer.nsf/front?openview&count=2000
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Hebrew Roots teacher with prophetic ministry. Speculates extensively on various conspiracy theories. Promotes the "Bible Codes," and the belief that angels had sex with women before the Flood of Noah.
As noted on
http://cultlink.com/plagiarism/plgchart.htm
...Admitted plagiarizing a portion of Professor Edwin Yamauchi (Miami of Ohio) University) 1982 book, Foes From the Northern Frontier in his own 1992 book (co-written by [Hal] Lindsey) titled The Magog Factor.
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One of the founders of the controversial so-called "Shepherding Movement" of the Charismatic renewal of the 1970s, along with Ern Baxter, Charles Simpson, Derek Prince, and Don Basham.
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Pentecostal/Charismatic author and televangelist, part of the Word Faith movement, who specializes almost exclusively in fund-raising--on his own TV show and the shows of other televangelists. He learned the "seed faith" principle from his mentor, Oral Roberts, and enthusiastically promotes it throughout all of his own efforts in writing and preaching. Some religious commentators compare Murdock's money-solicitation tactics to those of discredited televangelist Robert Tilton. The comparison is apt. Like most popular Word Faith televangelists, Murdock lives an unabashedly lavish life-style, which has brought his ministry's non-profit status under scrutiny by the press and tax authorities. And like many of the others, although it might be difficult to pin on him charges of technically illegal actions, the ethics and Christian integrity of his ministry seem to well deserve such scrutiny and criticism.
A three-part investigative report regarding Murdock's ministry, reprinted from the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper, beginning 3/2/2003 is online at:
An in-depth evaluation of Murdock's teachings as they compare to the Scriptures is online at:
http://www.letusreason.org/Popteac19.htm
Sample excerpts:
On LeSea’s telethon [Lester E Summerall Evangelistic Association's TV network] to raise the funds he appeals in unusual manners by saying the blessing is only for 120 or for 70 people. Using biblical numbers that people recognize he abuses the context they were used in explaining to them that it is the Holy Spirit that is giving him this number. He prompts a certain number of people to quickly go to the phone. He explains they need to call in now while he is on the program, don’t hesitate now is the time, don’t miss the opportunity (If they hesitate and think about it they may certainly change their mind). Whether they are the 5, 13, 25, 40, 70, 100 or 120; different numbers are used all the time as he says God is leading him to give them a blessing for their seed. He asked the Holy Spirit to show him 120 people who would sow a $200 seed (June 18, 2001). Another time he asks the Lord to give him twelve unusual seed sowers of $1,000 each on his program. I wonder, if more than twelve give a $1,000 seed does he say we can’t accept this money and return it saying the Lord only told me 12? I don’t think so, do you!
... Murdock even offers upgrades on your seed - on one Telethon “there is somebody who called in the last 24 hours ... the Holy Spirit is telling you to upgrade your seed.” “The Holy Spirit is telling you come back to the telephone dial the 1-800 number… The Holy Spirit is telling you right now to upgrade your seed. When you change your seed you change your harvest.” But if you don’t do this quickly you will miss the opportunity. Like a sale at the shopping center people are prompted by Murdock’s advertising to move on this quickly or lose their opportunity for a miracle harvest. Now there are upgrades to seed faith, but its not free. Again I ask if there such a promise in Scripture? He then tells the people “the thousand dollars you keep wouldn’t make you debt free, if you kept the thousand you still owe everything you owe.” Not if you’re saving it to pay off a debt; but the truth is if you give Murdock the thousand dollars you’re way more in debt than when you first started. Something to seriously think about.
... Murdock says “There is about 6 levels of sowing that I have had uncommon blessing, one of them was one thousand seed”
Murdock gives a powerful significance to certain amounts of the seed “There’s been 5 levels of uncommon reaping in my life. One was a $58 seed I’ve been telling you about. One was $100, $200, $1,000 and $8,500. The thousand dollar seed broke the back of poverty in my life.” Nobody can sow this thousand dollars for you, you say Mike I never sowed any seed like that. That’s why you never reaped from that kind of harvest.” (Keys to the Kingdom LeSea).
“In the name of Jesus I speak four supernatural uncommon miracles in your life” He then tells the listeners to plant a $1000 seed.
“There is an uncommon anointing even right now on the thousand dollar seed through this ministry.” In my experience I believe there is the greatest anointing on a thousand dollar seed right now that there has ever been on any telethon on any service I’ve ever spoken” (Lesea fund raiser19 97 video tape).
When his convincing has not worked He resorts to manipulate his viewers by thinking it’s the devil who holds them back “Whatever seed stops you, that’s what Satan has purchased your future for, if Satan can stop my giving at $1,000 faith that’s where Satan has found the price tag on my future.”
...“I broke the back of poverty with a thousand dollar seed, its what you can walk away from you mastered. If you can walk away from a thousand dollars you’ve mastered greed for the rest of your life. Satan can’t torment you.”
Is he kidding! What kind of a promise is this? Can a thousand dollars given to Murdock or his ministry actually make one free from greed their whole life? Where does Holy Scripture ever say such a thing? I guess for these people who so earnestly give it does not have to be in Scripture but said by the mouth of a prosperity prophet. If someone has a lot of money $1,000 is a drop in the bucket how would this affect their greed? He’s making this all up and the naïve and gullible believe it! Better know your Bible before you give away all your money to people like this.
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Arnold Murray
Founder and spokesman for the Shepherd's Chapel ministry and television program. The program has been on local Public Access channels late at night for many years. In recent years it has shown up on an increasing number of commercial stations, both secular and religious. Casual viewers who don't follow the program consistently seem to view it as just a nice old gentleman helping Bible students to carefully study the Bible verse by verse. Only those who commit more diligently to listen to all the programs and send for extra recordings of "deeper studies" will finally realize that Murray's "exegesis" of Bible passages is extremely idiosyncratic, his interpretations range from fanciful to fanatical, and are laced with both racism and anti-semitism ... and much more. A more extensive profile on Murray is currently being prepared for the Field Guide.
Prominent leader in the Reconstructionist or "Kingdom Now" movement. Son-in-law of the late R. J. Rushdoony, considered the father of the reconstructionist movement.
He is most famous for his many failed predictions, including his prognostications regarding the "Y2K" computer bug. Here is a sample excerpt from one article in January 1999 about his predictions:
WASHINGTON -- For decades Gary North has made a living predicting modern society will end in panic and ruin. In 1980, he forecast rationing of housing and a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. He warned his followers to buy "gold, silver, a safe place outside the major cities." Then AIDS became the threat: "In 1992, we will run out of available hospital beds.... The world will eventually panic," he wrote in 1987. Now North has found Y2K and a skittish audience receptive to predictions of doom. A recent advertisement for his Remnant Review newsletter proclaims: "A bank run like no other will bankrupt banks all over the world in 1999." If you fork over $225 for a 24-issue subscription, North will cheerfully equip you with "the tools you need to build untouchable wealth." His advice is familiar, if unsurprising: Close your bank accounts, sell your stocks. Buy guns, gold, and grain. Move to a remote cabin where you can survive the collapse of Western civilization, safe from riots and hungry looters.
"The code is broken. It cannot be fixed. The panic is inevitable. It's a question of when," he wrote on garynorth.com last month. "Through his Web site he can help to fan the flames of Y2K panic to create social disorder so the social systems of the world crash. It's out of the ashes of those systems that he thinks the kingdom will rise," says Frederick Clarkson, author of the book Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. Nope. It's none other than the Kingdom of God and the return of Jesus Christ, events that North believes won't happen until a Draconian biblical law is imposed for a thousand years. For North, there's no better way to pull the plug on an ungodly society than fanning the flames of Y2K panic. "He wants to make sure the banking system crashes. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy," Clarkson says.
See the website linked above for more details. You can read comments from that same website made after North's Y2K predictions failed miserably at:
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(1870-1937) The first person to allegedly receive "the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues" in the "Pentecostal movement" that began in 1900. She was at the Bethel Bible School led by Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas. Parham later recorded that on December 31, 1900, he laid hands on her and prayed that she would receive "the baptism" and "speak in tongues." And she allegedly immediately began "speaking in the Chinese tongue."
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Anglican teacher and prolific writer. Author, contributing author, or editor of over 140 books, a number of them considered "classics" in the field of popular Christian/inspirational writing. Has been Senior Editor of Christianity Today magazine.
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International evangelist who has patterned his highly successful ministry after that of Billy Graham. Born in Argentina, he moved to the US as a young man, attended Multnomah School of the Bible, and began a career in public evangelism in the 1960s. Although his ministry is centered in the US, his evangelical efforts in South America have earned him the nick-name "the Billy Graham of South America." The main thrust of his ministry since 1999 has been what are called "Festivals," large, free evangelistic extravaganzas held in metropolitan areas.
Envision the biggest party you’ve ever attended. Multiply attendance by 100 or even 1,000. Now add two full days of fun, awesome Christian bands, world-class skateboarding demos, and opportunities to see your friends and family come to Jesus Christ. That, my friend, is a Luis Palau Festival.
Since 1999, more than 2,490,000 people worldwide have enjoyed Luis Palau’s “Great music! Good News!” festivals. A festival offers fun for the whole family—fantastic food, top Christian musicians, a VeggieTales children’s area complete with Bob and Larry, and a 10,000 square-foot skate park featuring some of the best professional skaters and BMX riders.
These festivals are sponsored by local churches in the area around where the festival will be held, with plans taking up to two years to put in place. As with Billy Graham, Palau's version of the Gospel is so "doctrinally neutral" that it is not uncommon to find such diverse groups as Roman Catholics, Charismatics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Nazarenes, and more cooperating in bringing Palau's Festival to town.
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Word Faith televangelist. Pastor of independent Charismatic World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, which supports Parsley's Breakthrough television show and associated Breakthrough Ministry. Particularly noticeable for his Old-time-fire-and-brimstone, flamboyant, bombastic, dripping-sweat preaching style which is full of gratuitous theatrical posturing and gesturing and lots of "oratorical devices" such as catchy phrases emphasizing alliteration of sounds. The official Breakthrough Ministry website is at http://www.breakthrough.net/ .
A detailed overview of the history of Parsley and his ministry, with an evaluation of some of his specific teachings in light of the scriptures, can be seen at
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Referred to in his own circles as "Bishop Earl Paulk." Foremost popular preacher in the Kingdom Now movement, and one of those men recognized in the Modern Apostles and Prophets movement as a bonafide modern prophet. Pastor and chief "prophet" of the independent Charismatic Cathedral at Chapel Hill (formerly Chapel Hill Harvester Church) in Decatur, Georgia. Was embroiled in 2001 in an ongoing scandal involving allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Paulk and others on the staff of the Cathedral.
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Former popular Word Faith television evangelist, part of the Healing Ministries Movement , who was exposed as a fraud in 1987. He claimed to have an astounding "gift of the word of knowledge" whereby he would call "complete strangers" out of the audience at healing crusades and reveal personal details about them and their ailments. A team of investigators led by James Randi discovered that associates of Popoff would actually gather information about those in the audience before the meetings began, note it down in writing and give it to Popoff's wife. She would then sit in a trailer outside the meeting hall in front of a television monitor showing the audience. And when the meeting began, she would broadcast information to a hidden transmitter in Popoff's ear, identifying for him people in the audience that he could call up for his "performance," and feeding him information about them that he could use to astound them and the audience. Randi appeared on TV and played for a live audience a recording his investigators had made of Popoff's wife's voice broadcasting such information to him.
This revelation destroyed his ministry at the time. Astonishingly, however, Popoff has evidently resurrected his ministry, and now has a website promoting it again, including offers for a number of Word Faith books he has written, and descriptions of his new TV program, international crusades and more.
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One of the most popular Black Word Faith televangelists. Protégé of Kenneth Hagin, alumni of Hagin's Rhema Bible Institute. Pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, California, which supports his Ever Increasing Faith broadcasts and ministry.
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One of the founders of the controversial so-called "Shepherding Movement" of the Charismatic renewal of the 1970s, along with Ern Baxter, Charles Simpson, Bob Mumford, and Don Basham.
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