In 1979, God gave me the following dream concerning the churches ...
I see this in our church groups today:
In this dream, I went into a room where a meeting was going on. There was one vacant seat on the aisle and I sat down and began listening to a man who was speaking to the group. Another man rushed and went to the front of the room and said, "Stop ... wait ... can't you see ... It's too late! It's already begun."The first man resumed speaking to the group.
I looked out the window and was shocked at what I saw.
There was a tall, civil defense type pole with a yellow warning speaker on top of the pole. Out of the speaker was coming a poison gas. I knew it would kill the people and shockingly the gas was coming from our own speaker which was supposed to warn us.
I looked at the man who was sitting next to me. He was sitting upright. He had a big smile on his face. He was looking directly at the speaker in an attentive way. But this man was a corpse. He was dead though he looked alive.
Then I looked at people around the room and they were already dead also.
And as I sat back in my seat, I felt myself falling asleep, dying as I listened to the speaker.
At that time, 1979, I was attending a church in Dallas. I was there for every gathering, mornings and evenings. I saw nothing wrong and looked for no wrong doing in the church. I didn't even have any idea there would ever be wrong doing in the church. I was a very recent Christian. The pastor spoke many doctrines which didn't apply to me. I knew they didn't apply to me. But I just copied down all scriptures spoken by pastor and when I got home I would study these scriptures which I knew did apply to me.
But after God gave me the dream where the poison gas was coming from our own warning system and the people in the congregation were dead from the poison, I noticed the people at the church I was attending were like those people in that dream.
One Wednesday night, I got up during the sermon and went into restroom and began talking to God. I said, "I think You are showing me to leave this church group. I'm going to drive away but if YOU want me to return I will return." I got into my car and left.
The church I was attending was Word of Faith in Dallas. The pastor was Robert Tilton.
But after I left and tried to find another church to attend, I saw the same thing over and over. The pastors twisted scripture and the congregation sat and smiled, loving it.
Jeremiah 5 ... 30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and MY people love to have it so:and what will ye do in the end thereof?
As I have visited various church groups, I have witnessed this over and over. The pastors speak perverse things, even twisting the scripture to their own destruction and to the destruction of the people who "happily sit" in the congregations. In those groups, when the scripture was changed or twisted, I did not see any person in the congregation reach for a Bible to check what the preacher was saying ... most are happy in lies and praise the speaker of lies and worship their churches thinking they are worshiping God.
Once I visited a church group where the pastor was teaching from John 8, concerning the woman taken in adultery. He said, "And when the woman taken in adultery was brought before Jesus she was naked from her waist up." I was shocked! The people in the congregation just smiled. I saw no one reach for a Bible to check John 8 for truth. They just sat there smiling as the pastor spoke. (This is the poison gas dream where the speaking is killing the people in the congregation with the poison gas that comes from his own mouth... And Jeremiah says: and My people love to have it so:)
Over and over, I visited church after church and heard pastors speaking things which are not true and saw entire congregations sitting there doing nothing at all about the lies that were coming forth ... they just sat smiling ... they were already dead.
During these years, I went to each pastor I heard speaking wrong things and talked to each pastor in private. Not one repented. Not one expressed sorrow. Each pastor struck out at me.
But the people in each group just praised the deceitful pastor.
I can identify with everything Jeremiah wrote for I have seen it today in the churches ... and at some point God will visit (judge) these pastors and the congregations who worship these pastors who speak lies and twist the Word of God to suit themselves and to suit their hearers for the people love to have it so ...
Are you just sitting there smiling ... or do you sit there knowing things are wrong at your church group?
Several years ago, God gave me the following dream. In this dream, I was in a room with a long row of bassinets. I walked down the row and looked at each baby. The babies were horribly deformed. At the end of the row stood my favorite aunt. She was a fully grown woman but her face was covered with horrible spots and blemishes.
This aunt had been a Church of Christ member all her life. Before she died she told me she knew things were wrong at church but she stayed there. (spots and blemishes on her face) At one point, she had asked the minister if they could study Psalms. But he replied Psalms was much too long. She said to me, "What difference would that make." But she stayed there knowing things were wrong.
The babies in the dream were people who never grew up to maturity. They remained babies. And the doctrines caused them to be horribly deformed.
This is what it is in the churches today.
My own cousin told me this story about their church group: "We know some of the doctrines are wrong that we are teaching but we don't change them because it would hurt the faith of our older church members who have been following these doctrines all their lives." (Incredible)
Jesus said ... 24 God is a Spirit:and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in spirit and in truth. John 4
Are you just sitting there smiling at everything the preachers preach? ... or do you know it is wrong there and stay there anyway?
Concerning the doctrine that I knew didn't apply to me at Robert Tilton's church, it was the doctrine of prosperity which Tilton often taught. I remember one time (or even more) when that doctrine was being taught, the preacher told us if we wanted a new car we should cut out the picture of the car we wanted and put it on the refrigerator where we would see that picture. And inside us something would happen in time and we would eventually figure out a way to get that car.
Instead I saw prosperity coming in the following way:
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Joshua 1
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein:for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
This is what I did.
But I didn't want a new car. Nor was I looking for earthly wealth. My great love was for Bible. I just wanted the Word of God and sought Bible teaching continually.
At the time I was at Tilton's church, I didn't see the wrong in the doctrine he was teaching. That doctrine just didn't apply to me for I didn't want a new car. I wanted Bible teaching.
But I focused on scripture and God taught me a fear of the Lord by various experiences of this life.
And God taught me continually and eventually brought me out of that church group but there was no other group I could find for perversion from pastors was everywhere. I went to all sorts of group ... Baptist, Church of Christ, full gospel groups, non-denominational groups ... Every group I attended had same thing. Pastor was speaking something not true by scripture. When I went to pastor the same happened, and I went to each pastor. The pastor refused to repent and tried to attack me.
Concerning Robert Tilton ... He wanted to be big time. He said from pulpit that he planned to have more radio stations than Kenneth Copeland ... He started a TV show in Dallas. He invited a woman from our church group who said she is a prophet to be on his show. The second before going on the air, Tilton said to Ava, "Just one thing ... don't mention anything about being a prophet ... for it's not popular."
Ava was devastated. She called me after the show. I knew Tilton had killed a prophet by his words to her. And I saw what Jesus said in Matthew 23, and I knew this was going to happen to Robert Tilton.
Jesus said: 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (because they killed the prophets) Mt. 23
I delivered this message to Tilton ... that because of what he had done, his house would be left desolate.
I left Dallas in 1985. After I left, Tilton and his wife divorced. Some of the members of his own church group sued Tilton. Finally the church was dissolved and the church building was torn down. ABC Primetime did an expose about corruption in offerings taken by Tilton and they put this on national TV and it appeared on Wikipedia (Internet encyclopedia). Here is that article about Robert Tilton.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (excerpt)
Robert Gibson Tilton
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|
Born
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June 7, 1946 (age 68)
Dallas, Texas, USA |
Occupation
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Pastor, Author, Televangelist
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Employer
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Word of Faith World Outreach Center Church
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Title
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Pastor
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Religion
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|
Spouse(s)
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3 wives: Martha Phillips (1968–1993)
Leigh Valentine (1994–1997) Maria Rodriguez Tilton (2002–Present) |
Robert Gibson Tilton (born June 7, 1946) is an American televangelist who in the 1980s and early 1990s
created an infomercial-styled
religious television program Success-N-Life, which at its peak in 1991
aired in all 235 American TV markets (daily in the majority of them), brought
in nearly $80 million per year, and was described as "the fastest growing
television ministry in America."[1][2]
However, within two years after ABC's Primetime Live aired an expose into Tilton's fundraising practices, which started a series of investigations into the ministry, Tilton's program was no longer being broadcast.
Tilton later returned to television via his new version of Success-N-Life airing on BET and The Word Network.
However, within two years after ABC's Primetime Live aired an expose into Tilton's fundraising practices, which started a series of investigations into the ministry, Tilton's program was no longer being broadcast.
Tilton later returned to television via his new version of Success-N-Life airing on BET and The Word Network.
According
to Tilton's autobiographical materials, he had a conversion experience to
evangelical Christianity in 1969[3] and began his ministry in 1974, taking
his new family (including wife Martha "Marte" Phillips, whom he
married in 1968) on the road to, in his words, "preach this gospel of
Jesus."[1]
Tilton preached to small congregations and revivals throughout Texas and Oklahoma.[4]
Tilton and his family settled in Dallas, Texas, and built a small nondenominational charismatic church in Farmers Branch, Texas, called the "Word Of Faith Family Church" in 1976.[4]
The church also started a local television program then known as Daystar (not related to the Daystar Television Network, though both were started in the Dallas area). Tilton's announcer on Daystar was Miami radio personality and voice-over artist Dave Mitchell, who was based in Dallas at the time.
Tilton preached to small congregations and revivals throughout Texas and Oklahoma.[4]
Tilton and his family settled in Dallas, Texas, and built a small nondenominational charismatic church in Farmers Branch, Texas, called the "Word Of Faith Family Church" in 1976.[4]
The church also started a local television program then known as Daystar (not related to the Daystar Television Network, though both were started in the Dallas area). Tilton's announcer on Daystar was Miami radio personality and voice-over artist Dave Mitchell, who was based in Dallas at the time.
Tilton's
young church was growing steadily, but Daystar failed to expand beyond
the Dallas area until Tilton went to Hawaii—his self-described version of
Jesus's forty days in the wilderness[5]—and spent time fishing, drinking, and
watching an increasingly popular new form of television programming: the
late-night infomercial.
Tilton
was particularly influenced by Dave Del Dotto, a real estate promoter who
produced hour-long infomercials showing his glamorous life in Hawaii (which he
constantly stressed anyone could achieve just by following the principles set
up in his many "get rich quick" books) as well as
"interviews" with students who were brought out to his Hawaiian villa
for said interviews, specifically for their on-camera testimonials about the
success in life they were now enjoying thanks to his teachings.[5]
Upon his return from Hawaii in 1981,
Tilton, with the help of a US$1.3M loan from Dallas banker Herman Beebe,[1] revamped Daystar into an
hour-long "religious infomercial" with the title Success-N-Life.[5]
Tilton's ministry consisted
mainly of impressing upon his viewers the importance of making
"vows"—financial commitments to Tilton's ministry. His preferred vow,
stressed frequently on his broadcasts, was $1,000.[6]
Occasionally, Tilton would claim to
have received a word of knowledge
for someone to give a vow of $5,000 or even $10,000. When a person made a vow
to Tilton, he preached that God would recognize the vow and reward the donor
with vast material riches.[7]
The show also ran
"testimonials" of viewers who gave to Tilton's ministry and
reportedly received miracles in return, a practice that would be used as the
basis for a later lawsuit from donors charging Tilton's ministry with fraud.[8]
A Dallas Morning News
story published in 1992 observed that Tilton spent more than 84% of his show's
airtime for fundraising and promotions, a total higher than the 22% for an
average commercial television show;[9] other sources put the total fundraising
time during episodes of Success-N-Life closer to 68%.[7]
Some of Tilton's fundraising letters
were written by Gene Ewing, who heads a
multimillion-dollar marketing empire writing donation letters for other
televangelists like W.V. Grant and Don Stewart.[10]
As
a result of Tilton's television success, Word of Faith Family Church (renamed
"Word of Faith Family Church and World Outreach Center") grew to
become a megachurch, with 8,000 members at its height.[4]
Tilton
is the author of several self-help books about financial success, including The
Power to Create Wealth, God's Laws of Success, How to Pay Your
Bills Supernaturally, and How to be Rich and Have Everything You Ever
Wanted. Most of Tilton's books were published in the 1980s and distributed
via promotion on Success-N-Life and through the many mailings Tilton's
ministry sent his followers.
Ministry and fundraising
scandal
In
1991, Diane Sawyer and ABC News conducted an investigation of Tilton (as
well as two other Dallas-area televangelists, W.V. Grant and Larry Lea). The investigation, assisted by Trinity Foundation
president Ole Anthony and broadcast on ABC's Primetime Live on November 21, 1991, alleged
that Tilton's ministry threw away prayer requests without
reading them, keeping only the accompanying money or valuables sent to the
ministry by viewers, garnering his ministry an estimated US$80 million a year.[1]
Allegations of exploitation
of vulnerable people
Ole
Anthony, a Dallas-based minister whose Trinity Foundation
church works with the homeless and the poor on the east side of Dallas, first
took an interest in Tilton's ministry in the late 1980s after some of the
people coming to the Trinity Foundation for help told him they had lost all of
their money making donations to some of the higher profile televangelists,
especially fellow Dallas-area minister Robert Tilton.
Former
Coca-Cola executive Harry Guetzlaff came to the
Trinity Foundation after he had been turned away from Tilton's church when he
found himself on hard times following a divorce. He had been a longtime
high-dollar donor and gave up his last $5,000 as a "vow of faith"
just weeks earlier. Guetzlaff's experience, combined with the sheer magnitude
of mailings from Tilton's ministry, spurred Anthony, a former intelligence
officer in the United States Air
Force and licensed private investigator, to start a full
investigation of Tilton's ministry. Guetzlaff joined Anthony in the task of
gathering details on Tilton's operation and later did much of the legwork in
finding and following the paper trail for the ABC news investigation.[12]
Undercover investigation
In
a November 21, 1991 promotional appearance for the Primetime Live
televangelist investigation on Live with Regis
and Kathie Lee, Diane Sawyer said that she had watched several
televangelist programs, including Robert Tilton's Success-N-Life, during
her travels as a reporter and was "fascinated" by them, but also
"disturbed".
Stressing that she knew how sensitive people always are
to reporters questioning religion, she said that she spoke with other
reporters, and then eventually to ABC producers, who then decided to conduct
their own investigation into a number of the more prominent televangelists,
eventually settling in 1991 on the three featured in the Primetime Live
episode: W.V. Grant, Larry Lea, and Tilton.[13]
According to Sawyer, the ABC
producers, including Tilton segment producer Robbie Gordon, learned about
possible resources available from Ole Anthony and the Trinity Foundation, and
contacted Trinity for information on Tilton.
After comparing their accumulated
notes, data and details, the two groups decided to pool their efforts and began
planning the undercover portion of the story. Anthony agreed to portray
himself, a Dallas-based minister with a small church looking into the ways
televangelist ministries could grow so quickly, and ABC producers would pose as
Anthony's "media consultants."[13]
Meeting with Response
Media
The
team, armed with hidden cameras and microphones, arrived for a meeting at
Response Media, the Tulsa-based
marketing firm handling Tilton's mass mailings, to discuss a proposal sent by
Anthony to Response Media about fundraising for a religious-based TV talk show.
The director of Response Media, Jim Moore, described for Anthony and the hidden
cameras (concealed in the undercover Primetime Live producers' glasses
and handbags) many techniques used by Tilton to raise funds for his ministry.
Moore also said that Tilton was doing "far better than anyone knows" and described the main strategy Tilton employed for such a high return rate on his mailings—that is, send the recipient a "gimmick" that compelled the recipient to mail something back in return, and most recipients would include some money along with it.
Moore also said that Tilton was doing "far better than anyone knows" and described the main strategy Tilton employed for such a high return rate on his mailings—that is, send the recipient a "gimmick" that compelled the recipient to mail something back in return, and most recipients would include some money along with it.
However,
as part of his sales pitch to Anthony, Moore disclosed that the response
letters generated by the fundraising mailings Response Media sends out for its
clients were never delivered to the client; instead, they were sent unopened to
the client's financial institution or other institutions of choice.
"You never have to touch it," Moore added in response to a clarification question from Ole Anthony about dealing with the gimmick objects sent to the potential donors in the mailers.
(Moore was saying the minister never had to touch the prayer request letters. Those letters did not go to the minister for prayer but were send directly to a handling house where the money was removed and deposited in bank and the letters asking for prayer were thrown into garbage. JB)
"You never have to touch it," Moore added in response to a clarification question from Ole Anthony about dealing with the gimmick objects sent to the potential donors in the mailers.
(Moore was saying the minister never had to touch the prayer request letters. Those letters did not go to the minister for prayer but were send directly to a handling house where the money was removed and deposited in bank and the letters asking for prayer were thrown into garbage. JB)
One of the ABC producers asked whether this
was a standard practice—"So the mail goes straight to the bank?"—and
Moore asserted that it was: "The mail goes to the bank, and they put the
money in your account.
The minister just gets the paper (list of names) with the person's name and how
much they gave."[1]
1991 Primetime Live
documentary ("The Apple of God's Eye")
Trinity
Foundation members, acting on this information, started digging through dumpsters outside Tilton's many banks in the Tulsa area as well as dumpsters outside the
office of Tilton's lawyer, J.C. Joyce (also based in Tulsa).
Over the next 30
days, Trinity's "garbologists", as Anthony dubbed them,[12] found tens of thousands of discarded
prayer requests, bank statements, computer printouts containing the coding for
how Tilton's "personalized" letters were generated, and more, all of
which were shown in detail on the Tilton segment within the Primetime Live
documentary, now titled "The Apple of God's Eye".[1]
In a follow-up broadcast on November
28, 1991, Primetime Live host Diane Sawyer said that the Trinity
Foundation and Primetime Live assistants found prayer requests in bank
dumpsters on 14 separate occasions in a 30-day period.[14]
Denial
Tilton
vehemently denied the allegations and took to the airwaves on November 22,
1991, on a special episode of Success-N-Life entitled "Primetime
Lies" to air his side of the story.
Tilton asserted that the prayer
requests found in garbage bags shown on the Primetime Live investigation
were stolen from the ministry and placed in the dumpster for a sensational
camera shot, and that he prayed over every prayer request received, to the
point that he "laid on top of those prayer requests so much that 'the
chemicals actually got into my bloodstream, and... I had two small strokes in
my brain."[14]
(Later in this article you will see Tilton admitting that he never actually received the prayer requests from individuals but had a list of names of those requesting prayer and he prayed over that list. So Tilton's above statement was refuted by Tilton himself. JB)
(Later in this article you will see Tilton admitting that he never actually received the prayer requests from individuals but had a list of names of those requesting prayer and he prayed over that list. So Tilton's above statement was refuted by Tilton himself. JB)
Tilton remained defiant on claims
regarding his use of donations to his ministry to fund various purchases,
asking, "Ain't I allowed to have nothing?" with regards to his
ownership of multiple multimillion-dollar estates.
Tilton also claimed that he
needed plastic surgery to repair capillary damage to his lower eyelids from ink
that seeped into his skin from the prayer requests.[15]
Further revelations
After
Trinity Foundation members spent weeks poring over the details of the documents
they and ABC had uncovered, sorting and scrutinizing each prayer request, bank
statement, and computer printout dealing with the codes Tilton's banks and
legal staff used when categorizing the returned items, Ole Anthony called a
press conference in December 1991 to present what he described as Tilton's
"Wheel of Fortune," using a large display covered in actual prayer
requests, copies of receipts for document disposition, and other damaging
information which demonstrated what happened to money and prayer requests which
the average viewer of Tilton's television program sent him.[16]
When both Tilton and his lawyer J.C.
Joyce reacted to the news by claiming the items Anthony was displaying had
somehow been stolen by "an insider," Anthony responded in a
subsequent interview that "Joyce (Tilton's lawyer) was our mole—a lot of this stuff came
from the dumpster outside his office."[16]
Primetime
Live's original investigation and subsequent updates included interviews
with several former Tilton employees and acquaintances.
In the original
investigation, one of Tilton's former prayer hotline operators claimed the
ministry cared little for desperate followers who called for prayer, saying
Tilton had a computer installed in July 1989 to make sure the phone operators
talked to no caller for longer than seven minutes.
The former employee also
revealed very specific instructions were given to them in terms of how to talk
with callers and they were told to always ask for a $100 "vow" at a
minimum.
Government involvement
Despite
Tilton's repeated denials of misconduct, the State of Texas and the federal
government became involved in subsequent investigations, finding more causes
for concern about Tilton's financial status with each new revelation.
After
nearly 10,000 pounds of prayer requests and letters to the Tilton ministry were
found in a disposal bin at a Tulsa area recycling firm in February 1992, along
with itemized receipts of their delivery from Tilton's main mail-handling
service in Tulsa rather than from the church offices in Farmers Branch, Texas, Tilton
admitted in a deposition given to the Texas Attorney General's office that he
often prayed over computerized lists of prayer requests instead of the actual
prayer requests themselves, and that prayer requests were in fact routinely
thrown away after categorization.[16]
As
each revelation became increasingly more damaging, viewership and donations
declined dramatically.
The last episode of Success-N-Life aired
nationally on October 30, 1993. By that time, viewership had fallen 85% and
monthly donations went from $8 million to $2 million.[17]
Failed libel action
In
1992, Tilton sued ABC for libel because of its investigation and report, but
the case was dismissed in 1993.
Tilton appealed the decision in 1993;
although the findings of the original court were upheld in 1995,
Tilton once more appealed the
decision, this time to the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1996, but the court refused to hear the case.[19]
Tilton sued for fraud
Several
donors to Tilton's television ministry sued Tilton in 1992–93, charging various
forms of fraud.
The
decline of Success-N-Life also led to the end of Tilton's 25-year
marriage to wife Marte, who had been administrative head of the Word of Faith
Family Church and World Outreach Center, in 1993.
The church building was purchased by
the city of Farmers Branch
in 1999 for use as a future civic center; however, the economy suffered a
downturn and the plans were scrapped, and the building was finally demolished
in 2003 to make room for a new youth hockey center.
When
Tilton returned to television in 1997, he established his ministry's
headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
where his lawyer J.C. Joyce's offices were located, and set up a post office box as its mailing address. A woman
employed by Mail Services, Inc., a Tulsa-area clearinghouse that handled mail
sent to Tilton's ministry, said that when she worked for Mail Services, Inc. in
2001, prayer requests were still routinely thrown away after donations and
pledges were removed.[20]
(Comments by Joan Boney ... This entire prayer request program is perverted. It would be impossible for a minister to address individual prayer over each letter received in mass market such as this. It is a fund raising program using prayer as a means to get money.)
One time, I had a message concerning adultery for Jim Bakker, TV personality. I sent him the message by US mail. I received a letter from Bakker which was presented to me as a "personal response" but it was a form letter. My letter head had the logo, "Jesus Ministries", printed at the top of the letter. Bakker responded: "Dear Jesus ... Thank you for your letter ... Jesus, Tammy and I prayed for you today."
(Jim & Tammy Bakker divorced and she remarried and died shortly of cancer. At one point Bakker was arrested for fraud. They were "big-time" religious TV personalities in the early 80's.)
==================
(Comments by Joan Boney ... This entire prayer request program is perverted. It would be impossible for a minister to address individual prayer over each letter received in mass market such as this. It is a fund raising program using prayer as a means to get money.)
One time, I had a message concerning adultery for Jim Bakker, TV personality. I sent him the message by US mail. I received a letter from Bakker which was presented to me as a "personal response" but it was a form letter. My letter head had the logo, "Jesus Ministries", printed at the top of the letter. Bakker responded: "Dear Jesus ... Thank you for your letter ... Jesus, Tammy and I prayed for you today."
(Jim & Tammy Bakker divorced and she remarried and died shortly of cancer. At one point Bakker was arrested for fraud. They were "big-time" religious TV personalities in the early 80's.)
==================
Comments by Joan Boney
When I began attending Robert Tilton's church in approximately 1978, we met in an old warehouse and had approximately 200 people attend on the best days. Eventually there were about 8,000 and a new building on that site. I left before the worldly destruction. I left Dallas in 1985. I'm glad I didn't have to see all these horrible things happening.
I Tim. 6 ... 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil:which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Some men's sin are exposed before the judgment for all to see.
Other men's sin follow after and will be revealed at day of judgment.
1 Timothy 5:24 Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
Concerning Robert Tilton: He killed a prophet when he told her not to mention being a prophet on his TV show, because "it was not popular", said Tilton.
Mt. 23 ... concerning those who kill prophets ... Jesus said ... 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
After doing this, Bob lost his wife and his church building. Now on the spot where his church building was, there is no evidence a church ever met at that spot ... desolation.
When God put me on radio through a word in the night which I believe to have been spoken by an angel of God, Robert Tilton told me I needed to use his press agent to promote me. At that time I was still attending Tilton's church.
I went to this press agent and they even accepted me as client. The name of the agency was Michael Ellison Advertising Agency. At the time I went to them they represented Kenneth Copeland, Marilyn Hickey, and had been representing Jimmy Swaggart along with Robert Tilton and other "big time" ministers.
The agency told me they had just given Kenneth Copeland two cars and when I became big enough, having enough radio stations, they would give me a car also. At the time this happened, Kenneth told story at his meeting of a man giving him a car. What Copeland didn't tell is it was his ad agent who made 10% fee from each radio/TV broadcast who had given this car to Copeland as a bonus.
But immediately things fell apart between me and the agency ... They told me to do several things which I just could not do.
They told me to put these words on the materials I sent out ... "Send me your prayer requests" ... I told the agency I couldn't do that! They were shocked and asked, "Why not?" I replied: "The people are supposed to pray directly to God themselves through Jesus." (not through Joan Boney or any other minister). I never wanted anyone to send prayer requests to me and to this day we do not accept such things. The people must have faith in God themselves rather than turning to anyone else.
When I refused to put this on my printed material, the agent said to me: "Joan, you are missing a good bet ... for when you ask them to send prayer requests, most people will put money in the envelop along with the prayer request."
But I refused to do this and never did this.
Another thing the agency told me is this: "You must never say or write anything that is unpopular." (I'm a prophet! Many things God gives me to say are correction to the church and are unpopular and are fought by pastors and the congregation.) Also the agency told me that I could not write anything directly to people but had to send all my writings to agency to be edited. Of course, I refused to do that.
Within about 4 months, I received a call from the agency saying they were going to have to eliminate some of their clients and I was one they decided to eliminate.
I was devastated. I knew I was in big-time ministry and now I had failed.
But God brought the following to my mind to define what had happened to me:
Mt. 4 ... 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil...8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Instead of failing, I knew I had passed a very big test.
Today, I'm so happy I'm not a big-time minister ...
saved by God!
And each of us are saved by God as we do HIS word and reject all other directions which are contrary to HIS word.
A warning: Even when a minister is truly called by God and tries to speak truly from God, I've seen individuals sit in the best of teachings and still fall away. So it is not just in corrupt groups where individuals choose to go a way other than the way of God. It is up to each one of us to guard our own hearts by the Spirit of God. (But I would not go to a church group where I knew wrong teaching was regularly spoken by the preachers and where the preachers would not repent.)
II Corinthians 5 ... 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.