Ed Young Loses His Way (Update – Post Your Tax Returns Online Ed)
John on February 9, 2010 at 8:23 am
I’ve been to Fellowship Church on one occasion and read one of Young’s books a couple years ago. So the latest revelations coming out of Grapevine, Texas are very disappointing:
Over the past few weeks, News 8 has been in contact with a number of individuals who were once close to Young at his massive Fellowship Church in Grapevine, disturbed by his direction and treatment of staff.
Young recently replaced his chief financial officer and replaced him with his personal attorney, business partner and fishing buddy, Dennis Brewer Jr.
Boy does this bring back memories. Word to the wise, when the pastor starts replacing staff with his buddies, something is wrong. Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning.
With Brewer’s help and a complex series of business creations and transactions, Young is now jetting around the country in a French-made Falcon 50 private jet; estimated value, $8.4 million.
Records obtained by News 8 indicate Fellowship Church became the operator of the jet in March of 2007. News 8 discovered the jet parked in a hangar at Alliance Airport north of Fort Worth, tucked away where only a select few can see it.
Those who hear him preach every Sunday have never been told about the aircraft.
“The staff members are told that there is no plane, and several staff members who have actually been on the plane have denied that there is a plane,” said the former employee source.
Here’s another thing that sets off alarms…Staff are lying to the membership of the church. This is a very bad sign. It says that, deep down, the staff know something is wrong and they are ashamed to tell the truth.
News 8 has also learned that Young’s 10,000 square foot, $1.5 million estate on Lake Grapevine is not listed on the tax rolls in his name, but rather in the name of “Palometa Revocable Trust.”
Records show that Young was paid $240,000 a year as a parsonage allowance; that’s in addition what sources say is a $1 million yearly pastor’s salary.
$1.25 million a year? I’m sorry but there’s no one on earth who should be making this kind of money as a pastor. I don’t care how successful the church is or isn’t. Unless it turns out he’s giving away at least 75% of his income, this is just ridiculous.
Finally, it’s worth noting that this appears to have been brought to light by Ole’ Anthony who, despite doing some good work on televangelists over the years, has his own problems.
Update: A commenter is upset with me for spreading “slander” and tells me to check out Ed’s response. Okay, so here it is, Ed Young’s response:
So he admits to flying around in an $8 million dollar private jet, but it was “leased” not owned. He makes it sound as if, in consulting with experts, this is normal. Really? How many pastors fly in private jets to take a vacation? Also, it has never been a secret, it’s just that no one at the church knew about it.
And his house isn’t 10K square feet, it’s only 7,800. Wow, that’s hardly worth mentioning then. Only 7,800? That’s practically a hovel.
And he doesn’t make a million dollars a year, but he won’t say what he does make and he doesn’t deny the 250K parsonage claim in the story. So does he make a million in compensation if you include the parsonage? Three quarters of a million?
Other pastors make money off books and so forth, but Rick Warren has made a big point of giving 90% of his income away. I don’t hear any similar commitment from Ed, just vague reassurance that he makes less than some unspecified others.
And the two guys he trots out to back him up count for zero in my book. I’ve seen that up close and those guys are usually on the payroll one way or another. Finally, promising great things in the future doesn’t excuse him from making good choices in the present.
If Ed wants to convince people he’s above reproach, he ought to post his income tax filing online for the whole church to see. If he’s not ashamed of his salary then why not just tell people what it is. A CEO in the business world would never do such a thing of course, but this isn’t just a business. If Ed has nothing to hide (and I really wish that to be the case) then he should put his critics to shame by offering complete transparency about his finances and lifestyle now that the question has been raised. “Moving on” without taking those steps looks a lot like trying to change the subject to me.
Update 2: Don’t miss this comment about the ownership of that private jet. I haven’t verified the facts yet, but this individual seems to know. The gist is that this is an exclusive “lease to own” at the end of which Ed would own the plane for a final payment of $1.oo. If true, and again I haven’t verified it, that would mean his explanation to his congregation was essentially a deception.
Again, this is something I’ve seen up close. The pastor says something which while technically true in a legal sense is in fact designed to hide the real situation from people. It’s not a good sign. If Ed deceived people about the plane, I would strongly urge members of Fellowship to find another church.
If anyone out there has confirmation of this information, please send it to me and I will publish it.
Update 3: No responses to my e-mail queries about the plane. Not surprising really. Also, check the comments for a description of what goes on at FC from an ex-employee.
If any ex-employees (or current ones) want to go on the record, I’d be happy to do an interview.
Also, follow up post is here.
Category: Religion & Faith |
please do your homework before publishing. first off, you are re-reporting a news station. second, please go to edyoungblog.com and watch the video associated with this story. third, then write a new blog post apologizing for spreading slander.
February 9, 2010 @ 12:22 pmAlex
I watched the first 16 minutes, then the video froze, so grant me some slack on this. What I saw was a man holding back on the truth, using phrases like “It is what it is”, which have the tone of coming clean, without saying anything. And the 7,800 sq ft thing? Gimme a break. So his house is a “nowher near” 78% of the reported figure – if his remuneration (which he determinedly avoids discussing) is a similar % of the reported figure, he’s earning too much for a pastor. He hasn’t come clean, he’s responded.
Oh, and as long as you cite sources, what’s wrong with re-reporting what others have reported? That’s how blogs work, isn’t it?
February 9, 2010 @ 1:26 pmFirst, the source of the news report is a disgruntled former employee who appears in a hood with their face blurred and uses a voice scrambler. It simply isn’t credible.
Second, so what if it’s all true? Has he done anything wrong? No, he hasn’t.
You (and others) may not like the fact that a pastor makes such a large salary, owns such a large home, and has the opportunity to fly on chartered planes – but it doesn’t make it wrong to do so.
I know a pastor who owns a home well over $1mil but the money came from his wife’s family. My brother started with a $200k home 15 years ago and bought and sold at the peak of the market 4 different times and now owns a home worth $1.3mil with only a $250k mortgage. Point is, you don’t know the facts, the new channel doesn’t know the facts, and he doesn’t owe you or me or the news an explanation.
If the people in his church want to pay him that much money, that is their prerogative. We don’t have to like it, but we don’t have to make Ed a bad guy either.
February 9, 2010 @ 3:13 pmMinor quibble: Actually, top-five executives at publicly traded companies have executive compensation listed on 10-K forms. So we’re dealing with a level of transparency required by the SEC. In other words, not that much transparency.
The whole “I don’t make a million” but I don’t tell you what I do make was weak.
February 9, 2010 @ 3:16 pmM.G. – that’s the problem with the report. If Ed say’s “I don’t make a million, but I do make $900k.” – he loses. If Ed say’s, “I make $500k, not a $1mil” – he loses because he still makes more than most people in his church. If he say’s, “I make $100k a year.” – no one believes him. He is absolutely in a no win situation.
February 9, 2010 @ 3:22 pmSo Ed wants to run “his” church (yes, little “h” is on purpose) as a business and make a handsome profit — no problem. If you do that, then you’re not entitled to non-profit status, and the donors have to start paying taxes on donations.
Bu the way, Paul wrote to Timothy (a young preacher in training) to “not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn”… but Jesus told this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
February 10, 2010 @ 1:21 pmIt’s simple. Post your tax returns online. Tell people where to find it. Then no one will doubt you.
Pastors who make a million dollars for preaching the Gospel and lease their own private jets for taking vacations ought to think about Jesus words about the love of money.
February 10, 2010 @ 1:47 pmMichael, the church isn’t running for profit, but maybe other companies are. Ed owns his own publishing. When he writes a book, he makes all the profit apart from the church. No different from a worship pastor making a CD on his own dime and selling it and keeping the profits.
John, he doesn’t have to post his tax return online. He’s not accountable to the news outlet. Remember, this was not the congregation asking these questions, he was a news channel looking to break a story for sweeps week.
February 10, 2010 @ 5:00 pmAlex,
I never said he had to post them, I was just pointing out that your objection, i.e. no one would believe him, is bogus.
The fact is he makes far too much money. If it weren’t so, he wouldn’t be shy about telling people what he makes. As it is, he is clearly intent on keeping it a secret from his own congregation.
I suspect that people who have lost jobs and wages are going to be a little more hesitant to drop money in the church’s offering baskets now that they know where so much of it is going. Some people, the smart ones, will just leave and find a better church home.
February 11, 2010 @ 9:33 amI have a problem with pastors who are paid full time to be pastors yet spend 80% of their time writing books/seeking deals, booking speaking engagements, scheduling monthly trips to multitudes of conferences and vacationing multiple times a year when a lot of pleasure is already mixed in at said conferences.
Been there, seen that, got the t-shirt.
I do that on the clock at my job it’s called a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
Why isn’t MORE expected of people in Ministry than lay people?
I find it interesting that people who defend Ed Young can’t see that:
A) He’s already blown it. He is no longer above reproach
B) They insist that those who are suspicious of what is going on “Don’t know Ed Young”. True. But then again 99% of his defenders don’t know him either. They judge his CHARACTER largely on two things… how well he speaks (talent) and his charisma (charm). They don’t know the man either. They know an ideal (to them) who keeps them entertained.
I don’t believe we can or should judge the man’s character but we can and should appraise his reputation and very easily come to one realization.
Ed Young is no longer “above reproach”.
February 11, 2010 @ 2:54 pmQuestions: Do you give 75% of you earnings back to the church? In your opinion, what is the specific maximum amount of money that a Pastor should be allowed to make? Do you have these same limits on other jobs? For instance, an immoral rock star should be able to make more than a Pastor UNLESS the Pastor gives back the difference of money that is over and above the amount you determine…….right? Where is all of this written down? I better find out if I am making too much or too little (or if I am giving too much or too little) before envy gets a hold of me. (or you.)
February 12, 2010 @ 8:19 amJames,
Yes, because an immoral rock star is not bound by the same injunctions about money as a Christian pastor. Generally speaking the Bible expects Christians to handle money differently than the rest of the world.
Here:
and here:
It’s obvious that Ed Young –flying around in a private jet to island vacations, living in a mansion, and earning something just under a million dollars a year has not kept himself free of the love of money. If he really wasn’t embarrassed about it he wouldn’t hesitate to let people know exactly what he makes. The fact that he won’t do so proves that he is ashamed. Rightly so.
February 12, 2010 @ 8:48 amED YOUNG AND HIS HALF TRUTH:
That aircraft is owned by Medill Corporation. It traces back to Ed Young as the principal through several other entities. The church is making the lease purchase payment on the aircraft. He only uses the lease word on stage. Ed paid $11.4 Million via a lease with a $1.00 Residual Buy Out for the aircraft at the end of the lease. He then wrapped the transaction in a “shell game” lease company that he owns set up as a Delaware Trust. At the end of the lease, the congregation just bought Ed a jet. The only problem is N188FJ is a 1988 Model Falcon 50 that is now worth no more than 4.5 Million. The news reported it as a 2002 Model and that is incorrect. Medill Corporation makes the payment to GE Capital each month. Is this the best use of the Lord’s money. The pilots that work for Brad Harris at Dallas Jet International(The management company for the jet based at Alliance Airport) that crew the aircraft have always known the aircraft is a secret. Alliance is highly secure and private compared to the other airports in this part of North Texas. Just call Brad Harris to confirm. He will give you the same half truth as Ed did on stage on who owns the aircraft. It is no secret that it is a secret and always has been. Here is the registration straight from the FAA Records:
Record 1 of 1 found
AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION / STATUS
Make: FALCON Year of Delivery: 1989 Airport: AFW – KAFW – Ft. Worth Alliance Airport
Ft. Worth – TX – United States
Model: 50 Year of Manufacture: 1988 Serial Number: 50-188 Alt Ser#:
Registration Number: N188FJ Prev Reg#: XA-ALA Status: Not for Sale Purchase Date: 4/4/2001
Life Cycle: In Operation Previously Owned: Yes Ownership Type: Wholly Owned
Currently On Lease Last Change: 2/3/2009
COMPANY/CONTACT
Company Contact
Owner/Lessor – General Electric Capital Corporation
DBA GE Corporate Aircraft Finance
10 Riverview Drive
Danbury, CT 06810 United States
http://www.gecorporateaircraft.com
Office: 203-749-6000
Mr. Scott F. Forsberg
Manager, Aircraft Remarketing
scott.forsberg@ge.com
Office: 203-749-6640
Lessee – Medill Company/ Ed Young
TX United States
Ms. Ann R. Duckart
Vice President Tracy M Lamb Vice President
Aircraft Management Company – Dallas Jet International, LP
5605 N. MacArthur Blvd. Suite 640
Irving, TX 75038 United States
info@dallasjet.com
http://www.dallasjet.com
Office: 972-812-7525
Fax: 972-812-7527
Mr. Brad Harris
President & CEO
bharris@dallasjet.com
Office: 972-812-7525
Fax: 817-853-5188
Registered as Owner – CEF 2002 Aircraft, LLC
United States
Hutson T. W
President
Hangar: 503-329-5901
This aircraft will be owned by ED YOUNGS Phony company Medill for $1.00 at the end of the lease. ALL COMPLIMENTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH. The aircraft costs the church over $1,000,000.00 per year currently with insurance, pilots, hangar, and repairs. Now that’s not exactly as Ed put it on stage. There is no transparency at Fellowship because Ed owns the church. That is specifically against the way the New Testament insists that a church should be structured. It should not be owned by the Pastor. A church is owned by the membership NOT AT ED YOUNG’S CHURCH. IT IS ALL WRONG AND IT IS A BUSINESS THAT HE HAS CONVINCED HIMSELF IS SET UP CORRECTLY. LET ME KNOW HOW THAT IS WORKING FOR FELLOWSHIP CHURCH. WHAT A TURN OFF FOR SOMEONE LOOKING FOR CHRIST. OVER A STUPID AIRPANE AND A BIG HOUSE. ED YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
February 12, 2010 @ 8:48 pmThis guy sounds like he’s milking his gig for all it’s worth. Does he have an air conditioned dog house for Fido? He sounds like just another charlatan feeding at the trough of personal greed. Yet another church built on one guy. If he goes, the whole place goes. Too many evangelical churches are built on the cult of personality.
February 13, 2010 @ 10:37 amEveryone has a right to go to church where they chose to go.
All this might be legal, it maybe immoral maybe not? Depends on who you ask.
Here it come “BUT” the iceberg you see above the water “is what it is” (to quote Ed).
How about question like who picks the board members? And if they tell Ed “No” do they stay on the board? Can church members “really” see church financials? When Ed’s 10,000 sq ft or 7,800 sq ft home needs cleaned, does church staff do the cleaning? When Ed’s yard is mowed does church staff mow it? When Ed’s tape, books, CD’s or other items are put together do church employees do the work for Ed to gain $$$$ personally?
I mean iceberg under the water might be huge and his church might not see nor the powers that be even know. Would this be legal when it comes to nonprofit? Highly paid from his church but runs many other business too? How can Ed have time?
Come on, step closer and “DRINK THE “KOOL-AID” defenders
February 13, 2010 @ 1:25 pmEd Young’s shenanigans are listed here:
http://www.philcooke.com/ed_young_report#comments
And here:
Hamster-Pipe Preaching
By Robert Winkler Burke
Of inthatdayteachings.com
Copyright 1/12/10
Oh, congregation,
Please! Let me now repent!
A nightmare I had,
In a dream I was sent!
I was in a large, clear, acrylic, hamster-pipe: preaching!
Walking, as I do, left to right,
A veritable pendulum of Neuro-Linguistic hypnotism,
Creating in your minds: great blight!
Hamster-pipe hidden shenanigans,
Walking, talking, motioning in cadence to and fro!
Talking straw man rapture villains,
Wile-jabber-prophet mystic tyranny, don’t you know!
Like a weak-glued pencil,
The point always breaks,
Only those outside church,
See my feigns and fakes!
A playwright or a director,
Or a person of reasonable firmness,
Would see your brain: I hector,
The point being: I remove souls’ sureness!
And then: don’t touch God’s anointed!
But God’s anointed don’t use witchcraft shenanigans!
Amen? Agree? Clap hands? Give in?
Western Enlightened see thru me! I stop all bragging!
I’ve been a hamster-pipe preacher!
Stuck in a very stupefying, narrow vein!
Trying to make minds: more narrow,
Calling my mind-raping squirrel cage: born again!
God, in my dream, showed me,
How beautiful a mind can be!
Free and creative! Loving!
Not bound up: worshipping dumb me!
In my dream God cut a hole,
In my fear-greed-slouch pipe!
I had to repent to you,
That step out: free, I might!
Now, Fuzzy Wuzzee, my hamster,
That was my dream within a dream!
I’d NEVER repent to my church!
No, NEVER! Know what I mean?
Fuzzy Wuzzee, you say to me,
Surely, you can’t be serious,
And I, your master grandee,
Say, you’re gonna love this!
DON’T CALL ME SHIRLEY!
Tee hee! Hee hee! Ho ho! Fuzzy, I love you!
I’m cuckoo for brain-conning!
I’m having fun! And my sheep! Aren’t you?
Jeremiah 6:16 – Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” — New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 48:10 – Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
February 14, 2010 @ 9:45 amHey Bob,
When I type in tht registration number on http://www.faa.gov it only tracks it back to the registered owner as CEF 2002 Aircraft LLC. Where do you get all the other information about Medill Company and GE Captiol Corp from http://www.faa.gov?
February 14, 2010 @ 10:56 amWhy waist time tracking down a plane, train or auto? If the deal is real it will stand on its own, if not, it will fall. Based on crowds and support, I see no reason why it will not grow. I know the man, he lives it out.
February 14, 2010 @ 1:52 pmJosh,
I sent e-mails requesting information to both addresses. They are real addresses, real companies and real phone numbers. At this point, that’s all I know for certain. I will post more if I get a response.
February 14, 2010 @ 2:47 pmI perceive the Fellowship Church as a Wal-Mart and smaller, sincere churches as Main Street…forced to compete and out of business. I’m very close to a member of Fellowship Church. He/She is extremely defensive about it and displays complete support.It seems a cult like devotion.
February 17, 2010 @ 4:16 pmIn light of recent events, I want it known what occurred several years ago at Fellowship. I have no respect for Mr. Young, his staff or his profitable business.
I know of a fraudulent investment corporation called Horizon Establishment with affiliations with Travis Correll that circulated through this institution. The financial invitation was proposed by Associate Pastor Owen Goff and his wife Beverly with assistance from Frank and Carol Murphy.
Under the guise of strong foreign mission connections and great earnings from banks this opportunity was only “available to Christians and for a limited time”. Sadly, this trusting person unwilling and unknowningly invested 100,000 dollars and several close to him/her invested 130,000 dollars after being promised the principal would be safe.
2 months later, the investors lost their money and never an explanation from the Goffs or Murphys.They have refused to answer any questions in writing. It is so very upsetting and I will never see Fellowship as a church. It is a predatory and money making place.There is not even a bible in the sanctuary.It feels fake and downright evil to me. A word of caution to those that continue to attend and follow….Don’t give money or your emotions to these people.
You think Ed Young will take the rebuke? Or ride (jet) on and on?
Ridin’ from Rebuke
By Robert Winkler Burke
Of inthatdayteachings.com
Copyright 2/4/09
Isaiah 28: 1-3; Rev. 3:19
Ridin’ from rebuke,
Ah’m so free!
Gallopin’ from rebuke,
Ah’m on TV!
Ah’m a televangelist,
Boy howdy,
A hat’n saddle cowboy,
Not dowdy!
For ten, no twenty,
Maybe fifty years,
Me and mah compadres,
Been swilling beers.
The beers of intoxicating self-glory,
The wine of ME and MINE!
Broadcastin’ strong drink delusions,
Drunkards we all, divine!
Mah duster is religiosity,
Pard, buy me a drink,
Hand over your money, son,
Don’t you dare think.
Think what a bank heist,
Mah game actually is,
Renegade outlaws runnin’,
God’s broadcastin’ biz.
Ah have this here strong faith-hunch,
Y’all’s seed cash pronto-quick becomes mine,
Believe mah faith mantras, NOW, son,
God, not me and mine, will times it back fine!
Ah LOVE this outlaw math,
With every dollar mah faith is reborn,
Y’all’s coin increases belief,
Of me and mine, that is, not your’n!
AH AM the believer’s leader!
Ah ain’t never wrong,
Runnin’ from rebuke,
God’s posse ‘tain’t strong.
Support mah babble-on, anti-chastisement,
Non-rebuke charade,
YOU, Ah don’t know son, but me and mine,
Shor’ ‘nuff, got it made!
And love, Lordy Lordy, heaven above,
Jes’ why kin we never repent?
God ain’t rebukin’ whom He don’t love,
So’s we ride on, God absent!
Ask me now, friend, why should God love us,
We rebels of His way?
We take from His spiritual orphans and widows,
Who give us their pay.
So’s we ride hard,
February 18, 2010 @ 6:41 amFrom God’s missing rebuke,
Happy we be,
With all we took!
As a former FC employee, I can shed some light as to why the disgruntled employee on the news segment chose to remain anonymous as well as some of the inner-workings of the corporation so many like to refer to as “Fellowship Church”.
When you are let go from FC, you are basically forced to sign a clause stating that you cannot publicly ridicule, bash or talk badly about Fellowship Church or its leaders, WHETHER THE INFORMATION IS TRUE OR NOT, or the church can and will sue you for slander. If you refuse to sign the document, they withhold any and all severance pay being offered. Additionally, I’m sure this anonymous person is terrified of the backlash he and his family would surely receive from FC and it’s countless blind followers.
There has been a recent mass exodus of mature, long-time church members causing a severe budget crisis that has resulted in major cut-backs in staff and services leaving many ministries with a skeleton crew (at best). The regular staff (not Ed or his “Proper People” (as Ed refers to them on his blog)) is required to work 6 days on and 1 off and often asked/required to work the 7th day which makes their work week 70-80 hours (despite the pastor’s own messages about the importance of a day of rest), many times going 2-3 weeks and sometimes months without a day off. This has reached epidemic proportions as of late and most of these employees are “exempt employees” who are not paid overtime and make less than $50K (most times much less). It is not an uncommon occurrence to work a 15-hour day and be asked to stay into the night because Ed has decided to “change things up” for the weekend.
What is NOT being discussed in any article or blog post surprises me.
The messages, materials and videos generated with church-paid staff (the pastor being one of them), church VOLUNTEERS, church facilities and church equipment has been deemed Ed’s “intellectual property” and sold to a private entity owned by Ed to be used for his personal gain, rather than using those proceeds to fund the church or help with the current budget issues.
If you’re keeping up with the math, his salary doesn’t just end with what he is paid at Fellowship. He spends the better part of each week traveling to speaking engagements on the church’s dime to earn countless dollars for himself, and let’s not forget his many books he has published and copies of his paintings he has for sale. When you walk into Lifeway Bookstore, for example, and see small group Bible study books with Fellowship Church’s name printed on them, the money is NOT being generated back to FC but are instead being sold through a private entity owned by Ed.
Another money-maker that has flown under the radar is the church’s bookstore and cafe, “The Source” located at the Grapevine campus. Members are lead to believe that any and all products sold there are church property and their dollars are being generated back into the church. Wrong. The bookstore is owned by a private company that is owned by (you guessed it) Ed.
I have a problem that the “Proper People” in most cases are handpicked friends, longtime and well paid employees of the pastor and are employed at the PASTOR’S discretion (not by the board). Recently, 3 long-time “Proper People” were let go for “not being loyal enough” because they had been trying to get Ed to do the Right Thing instead of The Crazy Thing for quite some time.
Employees are not allowed to say “no” or question ANY decision made by Ed OR by senior staff. The minute you question them, you are deemed “not loyal” and you’re out the door without them even batting an eye.
He has said from the stage countless times (and I’m paraphrasing) that if you (the members) don’t agree with something that’s being said or done, then “there’s the door”. If you mention that you would like to hear something with more depth than watching Hollywood movie clips with Bible verses thrown in for show (i.e. the “At the Movies” series), then you’re deemed a whiner and “it’s your own job to feed yourself”.
What’s sad is everyone is demanded to display this undying loyalty to the church and to Ed, but that “loyalty” will never be reciprocated if it meant having to be held accountable for anything.
As for Ed’s profession of “living in an aquarium”, that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. None of the members or staff members (other than the “Proper” ones) see the inside of his office. It’s behind a secured fortress of numerous doors (accessed only with a swipe card) far away from any of the other offices. If you ever want to speak to Ed directly, you are deferred to another staff member. No one has access to the church’s financial records, even when tithing members ask for them. No one knows who the Board Members are and when you ask who they are, they refuse to give up the information. If you write him a letter, he will not read it (he has even confessed this from the stage). If you call to speak to him, you are denied.
Above reproach? I think the answer is obvious.
February 18, 2010 @ 5:33 pmWow, what an eye opener all these comments are, how did we get so far from the truth, that truth and honesty became the enemy or the opposite of the faith based on the one who said{ I am the way the truth and the life? Thanks for helping ne not be duped in Dallas.
February 18, 2010 @ 7:15 pmFormer FC,
Boy does all of that sound familiar. All of it. The severance threats, the loyalty tests, the long hours for low pay, the firing of people who won’t go along with whatever the pastor says…
I know how you feel.
February 19, 2010 @ 12:12 amSimply a case of the shepherd feeding himself and not the flock…fleecing the sheeple.Ed’s time is coming for judgement shall begin at the house of God.
February 21, 2010 @ 11:39 pmSounds just like another Benny Hinn, Copeland, Creflo (make a) Dollar,Joyce Meyer and others that senator Grassley was investigating.
I am not sure why no one else has pointed out some obvious things…at 3:57 in the video he clearly annunciates “As I’ve TOLD you before, again…” and then at 8:09 into the video, he clearly annunciates “As I’ve SOLD you, this is my number one investment the church…”. That is the TRUTH, right out of his mouth. He has sold us. He sells. He is a sellling, marketing phenomenon, hawking coins at the temple for his gain, not His gain. As good as he is, he can not help but slip up (think Freud) by saying Sold, crossing his arms, and touching his mouth from time to time, which in non verbal communication, show that he either does not believe what he is hearing/not hearing the truth, or he his aftershave is bothering him. You be the judge, after all, are we not to judge our fellow Christian brothers?
February 23, 2010 @ 8:11 amRegardless of the fact that this man earns more than I will ever see in my lifetime…I think the bigger picture is being missed. Pastors are called to their very position to shepherd the lost. Have you ever seen the movie The Apostle? Besides the fact that the lead actor murdered a man…he committed himself to the Lord and to those who wished to follow the Lord.
Now to shepherd a flock, you need to be there in the crowd, getting your hands dirty, showing both your strenthgs and weaknesses.
How can Ed Young fulfill his calling and not be involved in the “pastoring” of his flock? If he is untouchable and unapproachable…why bother? Jesus constantly made Himself available to those who requested.
February 23, 2010 @ 1:14 pmOk people. It is not hard to concede that when your defense to the accusation that you live in a 10K sf home is that you ACTUALLY live in a 7.8K sf home, and that the church does not OWN a jet, it just LEASES a jet, materialism may well have become your Achilles heel whether you want to admit it or not. I personally believe that Pastors owe it to God, themselves and their congregations to emulate the scriptural principle that “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” and, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” I also agree with Paul that, “A workman is worthy of his hire.” As a previous pastor of 15 years, the son of a pastor, the great grandson of a pastor, the son in law of a pastor, the cousin of many high profile pastors, I have to tell you that excessive compensation with conspicuous consumption is the VAST exception and not the rule among those in full time ministry. Usually, just the opposite is the case and sadly, undercompensated ministers in churches that could do MUCH better abound. For every story of financial excess, I can probably come up with 100 cases of penny pinching, scrooge like board members and churches that choke the financial life out of many a ministry family (this was the case in Ed’s early ministry if the stories are accurate, and I have no reason to believe that they are not). Check out Fuller Sems study of Pastors and their families and how they fare financially, THEN write your little blurbs. Having said all of that, I must say that Ed Young is in danger of turning C3’s meaning into “Conspicuous Consumption Church” rather than “Creative Church Connection” if he is not careful. I say this based on his own response the the WFAA piece, not because of the piece itself.
I have attended Fellowship Church for the last 5 years and am deeply saddened by the recent turn of events and have to wonder if, like many who have gone before, success is getting to Ed. He is a 5 talent guy no doubt about it. He preaches powerful, life changing messages that bring scriptural principles and precepts to bear on the stuff of life. He approaches the work of the ministry in a fresh, culturally relevant way. Like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do, the guy can bring the word in a relevant context that people can assimilate. Frankly, unlike droves of men and women in ministry who could not preach/teach their way out of a wet paper bag, Ed brings a crystal clear approach to presenting Biblical truth and I have loved what he does for this generation of gospel calloused people. Messages like “7 Days of Sex” where he encourages MARRIED couples to be sexually intimate ONLY with and faithfull to, each other (what a novel idea!) and denigrates/equates any extramarital sex as no better than animal copulation, and so many other powerful series have been wonderfully presented by him over the years and they have reached people that are not even close to being touched by the thousands of traditional churches in Dallas.
If I could, I would tell him how much he has meant to me, and commend him for so very much, and I would also caution him to back it up a bit, not to panic over a blip on the statistical screen as to attendance and giving, let up on his staff, don’t give in to knee jerk reactions (like firing the CFO and bringing his attorney-friend-fishing buddy-AND business partner….CAN YOU SAY CONFLICT OF INTEREST?!?!?!) to cautious counsel that he may have perceived as negative, but was actually for his good. I would tell him also to guard against over reacting to input that he may perceive as rebellion because of the nasty power struggles he has seen and had directed toward him in the past, but that THIS may not be THAT. Don’t lump it all together just because there a similarities. Above all I would very humbly remind him “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD.”
The Church needs a healthy, strong, BALANCED Ed Young in 2010 and the years to come.
February 28, 2010 @ 11:23 amBased on the comments above, I don’t think this dude knows what “balanced” means. He sounds similar to someone I know. Question – What would happen to the church if this guy took a three month leave of absence? Would attendance fall? Would the church no longer have the financial means to continue? If so, then you have a church built not on Christ but on the cult of personality. Churches built on gifted speakers are just that. Shallow places for people to assemble until the speaker leaves. Then when he goes, the place falls apart, i.e. another church built on the wrong fundamentals. I attend a church today that has the same numbers on Sunday regardless of who’s preaching. I like to think that this is closer to the New Testament menaing of what a church is supposed to be. There’s a lot more I’d like to go into, but I’ll leave it at that.
February 28, 2010 @ 6:04 pmI also wanted to add that I encourage churches and non profits to become members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) at http://www.ecfa.org/HomePage.aspx. If a ministry is unable to join the ECFA, there is NO reason, uther than being UNWILLING, that they cannot adopt the “ECFA Standards and Best Practices’” which are stringent and can be found at http://www.ecfa.org/Content/ECFABestPractices.aspx. You may remember that it was the ECFA that called nationally known Christian teacher and author, Hank Hanegraaff, and his Christian Research Institute on the carpet for misappropriation of funds and conflict of interest (see http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/august/6.19.html) …..sound familiar??? The ECFA sets the bar high for the way any church or non profit handles the donations of their constituents and contributors.
March 5, 2010 @ 3:36 pmMyself and my wife have just been to a two day relationship and life seminar held in London (UK) by Hillsong Church and hosted byEdand his wife Lisa. It was very uplifting and thought provoking and we have come away with a renewed sense of togetherness and aim to work hard to ensure our faith, love and marriage survive all the day to day pressures of today’s world. I find it deeply sad that there are people out there who only wish to look for the bad in people where there is so much good. The Bible’s core values are to teach us to lead a good life full of love and respect for one another; to forgive and treat others as we wish would want to treated. There is only one man who knows what is at the very centre of our hearts and desires and that’s the big man upstairs. To read much of the above saddens me greatly as a new christian.
March 24, 2010 @ 2:32 pmWhen Ed Young teaches that Jesus Christ is the 2cnd. Person of the Trinity (as he did in 2006), that is all well and good. When he lets Bishop Jakes, who denies and defies the Trinity, preach annually in his church, and does not even tell his church about how Jakes worships a different Christ (to this day), I understand that Young doesn’t really care about the Christ he taught us to believe. When Young says leaders should be open and transparent, I am in complete agreement. When he hides a plane for 3 years, I know he’s being a hypocrite. When Young says he “often returns to the Miami campus to lead sermons” because he’s “personally very active there” (he said this through his public relations firm), I think he should have since he went there 150 times (out of 416 total) in the plane between 2007-2010. When the truth is he only led 2 sermons there from 2007-2009, then I can see he doesn’t care about the FC members in Miami, who know he lied. When Young says he pays back every penny of the planes costs to Fellowship, that sounds ethical and moral. When he refuses to let anyone see the accounting of that, he is insulting and scandalizing the body of Christ in a very public way. When Young says, “(the plane) is something that um, you know, I’ve never been shy about telling people that ask us that all around the country. I tell people that” (04.26.2010 EdYoungblog: “There’s Always a Story Behind the Story” at the 3 minute mark), that would have stopped the news 8 investigation, if true. When his staff and church learn of the plane first from the worldly media, that exemplifies his practice of keeping his church in the dark. When Young suggests he serves Christ, that is exactly what a pastor should do. But when he waves his bible in front of a gold plated grill (Ed Young Jr.’s U.B.U. video at the 0:32 mark; a picture worth a 1000 words), he’s showing the world his inward desire to peddle the gospel for money. Covetousness is idolatry. Jesus said to watch out for false prophets who come to us in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves, and that we would only be able to know them by their fruit Matt. 7:15-23. God, Ed Young’s confessed “audience of One” is permitting the saints to get an accurate understanding of Ed Young’s struggles and deceptions.
April 30, 2010 @ 3:05 pmNos,
The Bible’s core values are to teach us to lead a good life full of love and respect for one another; to forgive and treat others as we wish would want to treated.
Really? Where does Christ, what he did and why feature?
Do you actually believe that Ed is loving and respecting his congregation if just 10% of the above is true?
May 2, 2010 @ 8:47 pmHere we go again – http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/Fellowship-Church-Jet-Travels-To-Exotic-Destinations-92134294.html
May 6, 2010 @ 4:56 pmI have said that from 2007-2009, Young led 2 sermons from Miami. My wife remembered 2, I remembered 1. But the Miami campus opened, (we can’t remember exactly when), and we both remember seeing Ed on the screen in Grapevine of him preaching at the Miami campus. And we only remember 2 of those. We stopped going to FC in 05.2009.
May 9, 2010 @ 4:34 pmThat comment is very imprecise. I deeply regret it. I publicly apologize to Ed Young, Fellowship Church, and the readers of this blog for making it.
I think Ed has received some very questionable advice from his law firm buddy, Brewer(new CFO) from the Bickle & Brewer Law Firm. There is no way Ed could have come up with the intricate structure of the church and form all the different entities, controlled all its dealings, handle all his personal financial decisions ect…. Who told him it was okay to lease a jet and take a million dollar salary. Who told him all those things were “market” as he said in the church service. I believe Ed is a good Christian man with unbelievable talent and a heart for Christ. I think he has listened to someone(Brewer) that professes to be his friend but may just be after the incredible amount of fee’s the church pays his law firm.
May 11, 2010 @ 2:13 pmEd is ultimately responsible but he needs to make decisions with guidance from God and his staff like he did when the church was formed 20 years ago.
I am a member of Fellowship Church and will no longer defend Ed’s actions. At this point, the only way I can see he can save the church and show that he is different from every other televangelist, is to follow Jesus’s guidance found in Mark 10 17-25. He needs to show the world true repentance and tell the story of how money can corrupt even the best leaders. He has followed the wrong path and needs to openly acknowledge his mistakes. Otherwise, he’ll be just another another high profile hypocritical embarrassment to the Christian faith.
Mark 10:17-25 (The Message)
17As he went out into the street, a man came running up, greeted him with great reverence, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
18-19Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good, only God. You know the commandments: Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, honor your father and mother.”
20He said, “Teacher, I have—from my youth—kept them all!”
21Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
22The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.
23-25Looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”
May 12, 2010 @ 7:48 amNone of this is surprising. He runs his church with the same godless ruthlessness that his father does, Ed Young, Sr. at Second Baptist Church. Same demand for absolute loyalty, same dictatorial spirit, same utter greed. It’s very, very sad, and it’s only shocking that his father hasn’t also been exposed.
May 28, 2010 @ 10:37 pmWhile America burns, the Clergy peddles their latest self-centered books, DVD’s, and CD’s conceived inside the bowels of hell. Pastors today are nothing more than crowd pleasing self-gagged prostitutes of the Internal Revenue Service under the 501c3 Tax-Exempt Code, experts in deceiving the masses all across America, and the World.
The Clergy of America are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. Come, each one cries, let me get wine
let us drink our fill of beer and tomorrow will be like today, or even far better. But the Lord Almighty says, weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape.
The shepherds desecrate the Holy name of Jesus Christ for thirty silver coins. These hucksters peddle riches, health, prosperity, and happiness to millions of self centered greedy men and women whose tithes, and offerings they use to build their little kingdoms of greed, and for rebuilding the tower of Babel, or One World Government. Words like Repent, Hell, and Eternal Damnation are the dinosaurs of contemporary Christianity hidden away in the bowels of their IRS 501c3 Tax-Exempt Status.
Consequently, the wicked have taken over America, while nominal wimpy Christians are too preoccupied with their feelings, worshiping the trinity of self, composed of “ME, MYSELF, and I” in search for a Jesus that is more in touch with their feelings, and for a Jesus that is more harmonious with their perversions. They don’t see Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; they see Jesus as the Wimp of Wimps and Dumb of Dumbs. These so-called wimpy Christians talk the talk, but they do not walk the walk. They know all the songs, and the Christian lingo, but they wobble and fall down when they are supposed to stand up against the wicked, therefore they are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked, and separated from the love of Christ.
Now Americans are reaping the bitter fruits of godlessness after sowing immorality for the last sixty-three years. Murderers can abort, and euthanize legally, couples can divorce legally, sodomites can sodomize and marry legally, and the immoral losers of America have only excuses, excuses, and nothing but excuses. We cannot win the war on terror in the Middle East. We cannot fix the national debt and the poor state of the economy. We cannot fix the rampant unemployment. We cannot stop the murders in the inner cities. We cannot stop the violence in public schools. We cannot stop the influx of illegal aliens, and illegal drugs. We caused the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. We cannot stop the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and we cannot, we cannot, we cannot…. No doubt, America is a country of losers, this is only the beginning and it will get much worse as surely as the sun rises in the morning.
America’s iniquities have separated her from her God, God has hidden his face from her, and he will not hear, because her hands are stained with blood, her fingers with guilt, her lips have spoken lies, and her tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity, they rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Apostate godless Americans are more dangerous than BP, Obama, Bin Laden, and Islam, and very shortly they will bring America down to total ruin
The evidence is everywhere. America is technologically advanced in the midst of religious gagged charlatans gone wild for profits, deceiving the spiritually undeveloped pew sitting dumbbells, who are also easily manipulated by the vultures of Washington DC, and the buffoons of the mainstream News Media. In Matthew 10: 16, Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” But today’s typical so-called Christian is not a lover of God, but a lover of money, and as gullible as a toddler, and as dumb as a house.
Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. Rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish. The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.”
Henry
July 2, 2010 @ 9:01 pm