Today’s Buzz:  Wife Beating, Divorce, and Money Pleas; The New Vatican Airline; and More…

Orginally published on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 6:03 AM
by Todd Rhoades

During this past week, there have been three major breaking news stories in the national press about the church. All of them are bad. Wife beating, Divorce, and money pleas. Another black eye for the cause of Christ. It makes me upset! (OK... I feel a little better). Also today, the new Vatican airline; Tony likes me; some love from the press over electronic tithing and church conflict; and Rex Humbard. And don't worry, I leave on a light note that most of you will enjoy, unless, of course, you're from South Carolina. (Sorry, Perry)...

Wife Beating, Divorce, and Money Pleas...
Sounds like Hollywood, but it’s really the church.  This has not been a good week for church news in the mainstream media.  First, Megachurch pastors Randy and Paula White announce that they’ll be getting a divorce.  Randy will stay on and pastor the church in Florida, and Paula will take off for NYC and other places to work on her own ministry (including a pretty sizable TV gig).  You can read more here. Both blamed the two different directions their lives are going.

Meanwhile yesterday, Global Destiny Ministries members on Sunday circled their spiritual wagons around their pastor, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, now charged with beating his estranged wife, the nationally known evangelist Juanita Bynum.  According to one congregant there yesterday, “"There are three sides to every story.  Nobody has the right to judge anybody. God is in the midst of that and will work it out.” Come on… they guy beat his wife.  What’s the other side of the story?  That she deserved it?!  He has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly choking, kicking and hitting his wife in a parking lot and making threats to kill her.  Yesterday, he told the GDM audience that it was the devil’s fault.

And finally, we have Ted Haggard’s ‘fundraising’ letter.  Haggard needs some support money for his new life stage helping the down and out; even though he’s made at least $338k since January of 2006; and still owns a house in Colorado Springs worth over $700k.

Here are three examples (in the past week alone) that show why so many people we are trying to reach have no respect for the church.  They think leaders like this are fake, and, quite frankly, a joke.  And, they think the people who blindly follow (and send money); in other words, “The Christians” are so blind and deluded, that they actually feel sorry for them.  No wonder we have such a hard time reaching people.  They think we’re naive at best, stupid at worst; and they literally want nothing to do with us.  Go figure.

Another Lawsuit in Christian Broadcasting
Among allegations of racial discrimination, Streaming Faith and its parent company Multicast Media Technologies, faces a multi-million dollar lawsuit from one of its founders. Rodney Sampson, a founder and shareholder of the company, filed papers with the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, against the Christian media giant, for his wrongful and unlawful termination as CEO of Streaming Faith, and the attempt of its key executives to void his ownership in the company.
SOURCE

New Vatican Airline?
The Vatican has its own bank, its own postal system, its own pharmacy and its own soccer tournament—but until now, no official state-sponsored airline.  That will change when the Holy See teams up with a small Italian charter company, Mistral Air, to launch a low-cost charter service to ferry pilgrims to many of the most important Catholic shrines, including Lourdes in France, Fatima in Portugal, Czestochowa in Poland and Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  “The spirit of this new initiative is to meet the growing demand by pilgrims to visit the most important sites for the faith,” according to the Rev. Cesare Atuire of the Vatican pilgrimage office.  Founded in 1981, Mistral Air functions mainly as a cargo transport service. The Italian state postal service and the Vatican pilgrimage office are both shareholders in the company, which intends to use the same aircraft to fly pilgrims by day and cargo by night.  The plane’s headrests will bear the inscription, “I search for your face, Oh Lord.” SOURCE

I Like You Too, Tony!
My friend Tony Morgan has recently listed his “25 Blogs Tony Couldn’t Live Without”.  Guess what?  Tony put me on his list!!  Thanks, Tony!  I like you too, man!  Read it here. Actually, there are some great blogs on this list, including a couple of new ones for me.  Check it out!

Rex Humbard Fighting For His Life
Pioneering televangelist Rex Humbard is “fighting for his life” in a Florida hospital, according to his son, Rex Humbard Jr. The former Akron minister, who just turned 88, broke his hip on July 23 and underwent total hip replacement, his son said. Complications followed. The senior Humbard, who suffers from congestive heart failure, is being treated at JFK Hospital in Atlantis, FL.

It’s About Time...
Yours truly was mentioned in a recent Time.com article.  Link Interestingly enough, it was on a subject that I really know pretty little about… electronic tithing.  They make me sound good, though, I think!  (You’ll notice they did get MMI’s URL wrong though, which is a bummer.

Church Conflict and the Internet Blogger
Over the past few weeks, I was also quoted on a subject that I actually have written quite a bit about:  the blogosphere and how that affects churches that are going through conflict.  EthicsDaily.com did an article on the subject that I think is quite good (and not just because they quoted me!) I really do think that this will be a big deal for many churches in the next years (it already has been for some!) Link at EthicsDaily.com

What in the World Is She Trying to Say?
Have you ever felt like this in the pulpit?.  Click here.

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a chronic workaholic, love to connect leaders with other leaders, and would consider myself somewhat of a 'maven'. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you'll like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step.

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