Keeping an Eye on the Trouble at TBN

Friday, December 03, 2004

When preachers get into the television business, it rarely works out well. Certainly the medium should be used to broadcast church services or messages, to reach many who don’t make it to church. But it almost always goes badly when ministers get caught up in the business of raising money to appear on television regularly, and then if successful, dealing with the temptations of being a “television personality” and making wise decisions with the millions of dollars that begin pouring in.

When it comes to dealing with temptation, it has gone badly at Trinity Broadcasting Network for quite some time. The smell of recent months coming from Costa Mesa is beginning to reveal the internal rot of the Crouch Empire.

We have an interest in this case because it is occurring at intersection of media and religion (TBN is the world’s largest religious TV network). Rooftop Bog first addressed the topic in a post on October 13.

Re-runs Used for Cash Drive
The death watch continues, with income evidently dropping and a tawdry court case dragging through preliminary motions. Religion News Blog reports that “TBN kicked off its twice-annual fund-raising drive Monday with reruns, an unprecedented move partly prompted by allegations that its founder had engaged in a homosexual tryst. The 31-year-old Christian TV Praise-a-thons have bolstered the network's budget since the beginning, now bringing in nearly $200 million in pledges annually. Officials at TBN, the world's largest religious broadcaster, are hoping that the reruns, honed to present the best moments of past telethons, will keep viewers' donations coming in.”

(Religion News Blog is not a great fan of TBN, referring to it as The Blasphemy Network).

Fox News Expose
KDFW.TV Fox 4 News in Dallas did a segment on November 29 (see it on Windows Media or Quicktime via The Door magazine here.

The station’s website said:

“Sometimes calmly, but increasingly with anger, Dr. Paul Crouch rails at unspecified charges against him. On TBN Crouch proclaimed, "Most of them a pack of lies! Right out of the pit of hell! And I can prove it!" It's the work of the devil Crouch tells his huge audience, referring to his detractors:"You'll burn in hell for eternity for the few measley dollars you think you're going to get. You're not going to get them by the way." Money paid to settle a lawsuit is at the heart of the crisis at TBN. The story begins in Colleyville, Texas at Shiloh Ranch in one of dozens of homes Crouch and his wife Jan keep in various locations around the country. In 1991, Crouch met Lonnie Ford at a TBN-affiliated drug treatment center in Colleyville. Ford served jail time for drugs and a sex offense against a 17 year-old boy. Crouch employed Ford as a chauffeur on and off, twice right after he'd been released from jail. But in 1998, after yet another jail term, Crouch refused to hire Ford back. Ford filed a wrongful termination and sexual harrassment lawsuit, alleging a homosexual relationship with Dr. Crouch. TBN reached an out-of-court settlement, paying Ford $425,000 and getting in return Ford's promise of silence.”

Ministry Watch
The charity watchdog Ministry Watch’s Ministry Watch’s Michael Barrick says, "Our concern is the $425,000. The ministry vigorously tried to hide that expenditure for six years. "The question of where the money came from is out there and the fact that it was paid at all is certainly inappropriate and the fact they attempted to cover it up is of grave concern."

Los Angeles Times Articles on TBN
I’ve found links to the Los Angeles Time articles on the Trinity Foundation website (without the registration that you have to go through at the Times site). Here are the links.

"Televangelist Paul Crouch Attempts to Keep Accuser Quiet" Los Angeles Times, 9/12/04

"Pastor's Empire Built on Acts of Faith, and Cash" Los Angeles Times, 9/19/04

"TBN's Promise: Send Money and See Riches" Los Angeles Times, 9/20/04

"Ex-Worker Accusing TBN Pastor Says He Had Sex to Keep His Job" Los Angeles Times, 9/22/04

"Will Paul Crouch Earn Reward in Heaven?" Los Angeles Times, 10/8/2004

"Live TBN Fund Drive Axed" Los Angeles Times, 10/27/2004

--James Jewell