Pastor Hagee Scandal (Feedback)

Pastor Hagee's Money Scandal Update

Pastor John & Diane Hagee

James 3:1

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you
know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Hi all-

I've been emailing some other prominent Pastors about the Pastor Hagee's million-dollar money scandal. By and large, they don't reply. I did get one reply, and I thought I'd respond to it and show you my response. This reply is from "Richard" with "Harvest Ministries" (Pastor Greg Laurie's church, in the Calvary Chapel denomination). By the way, keep in mind that Calvary Chapel is my favorite denomination of all the Christian denominations.

Below is my reply, followed by his original reply.

Letter 3: Bernie's Reply to Richard:

Dear Richard,

Thanks for your reply about Hagee's money scandal (Hagee pays himself over $1 million from his ministry's donors). Let me say upfront that I've emailed quite a few ministries, with virtually no feedback, so I appreciate your interest. Also, please note that Calvary Chapel is one of my favorite Christian denominations.

You seem to have 8 points. I'll list each one in red, then reply in blue.

1. "We cannot judge each other’s heart on how the Lord speaks to each one through the Holy Spirit on what we should and should not do in standing up against unrighteousness, unless it is clearly against God’s Word. "

I agree that we can't judge each other's heart. I'm not advocating that, either. If you feel that God is leading you to NOT rebuke Pastor Hagee, then I accept that; only I would like to know the Scriptural reason for it. Sometimes we do things on feelings, rather than God's wisdom. We should be able to help each other discern God's will. I do believe that that taking over $1 million from donors for personal gain is against God's Word. I can quote many, many verses against it. Here's a sampling (click on the link to read them):
Matthew 6:24, 1 Timothy 3:2-4 & Hebrews 13:5. I have to wonder, if you don't think it's too gross to be taking over $1 million from donors, what would move you to righteous indignation? Two million? Ten million? Is there no amount to move you? Is it because greed is such an acceptable part of American life that we can no longer recognize it in our culture, even by Church leaders?

2. "In general, the Bible does not instruct us to make big protests against greediness, but rather the battle belongs to the Lord, and we are to do our part primarily through prayer, as we are taught from Ephesians 6."

Who said anything about a "big protest?" This is really about following our Lord Jesus' advice on how to rebuke a brother, see Matthew 18:17. When you say "our battle belongs to the Lord" I think you are referring to Old Testament passages, which teach that we are to rely on God, and not the arm of the flesh. I agree. But what does that have to do with confronting a brother in sin? I don't see a conflict, and if there was, Jesus' direct teaching is always superior to Old Testament types and shadows. Ephesians 6 is about spiritual battles, not about confronting a brother in sin.

3. "While we are to speak up against unrighteousness, it has become almost a given that Christians are more against everyone and everything than for them. We need to share His love more than His wrath."

I think it is important, as Christians, that we are balanced. We must speak of love, as you say, but also of righteousness and sin. Probably one of the biggest charges against Christians is hypocrisy. We preach Christ, who gave it all for us, yet turn a blind-eye to preachers who are guilty and steal from the flock's donations to God? I also agree that we don't need to go around telling sinners that they are sinners; they already know that. They need to hear the message of redemption. However, this is about confronting a BELIEVER and MINISTER OF GOD regarding sin, not about judging the ungodly. (I'm giving Pastor Hagee the benefit of the doubt, since he claims to be a Christian and attempts to preach the gospel, as he sees it. That he teaches a version of the corrupted & evil "prosperity gospel" will be saved for a later discussion. Click here to read about some of this theological issues.)

4. "Going up against greediness in the pulpit even with tact and dignity can bring about some serious consequences, so we are to count the cost. It is very easy sometimes to try to do the right thing but in the wrong way (Philippians 4:6)."

I've found that one of the consequences is that people will ask "well, how much do YOU make?" It's a good question, and I fear a question that almost every minister wants to dodge. Personally, after seeing these issues, I'm trying to be a role-model, and openly publishing all my financials (click here to see). As a nonprofit 501C3, this is required by law anyway, but still, most ministries seem to make it very difficult to find this information. Churches are not required to report this, so they don't. Could this be a major reason your ministry doesn't want to talk about it... not wanting to disclose executive salaries, since it is a church-based ministry? Philippians 4:6 talks about being patient and bringing requests before God... how does that relate to confronting a brother in sin per Matthew 18:17? I think this is being done in a patient way, and by God's leading (after all, God, Jesus, is speaking in Matthew 18:17, and this is the process that I'm following).

5. "The Lord Himself knows when to become physical, as in John 2 and Matthew 21, and drive out the greedy religious leaders."

I think we are to learn from the Lord. He told us how to view money. He told us how to rebuke those who are in sin. Why can't we listen and obey? I'm afraid that the reasons I see are mostly laziness, indifference, & cowardice. If you really love the body of Christ (the Church), wouldn't you do something when it has a serious problem? Is it a case of the hired-hand not caring as much for the church as the true shepherd (John 10:12)?

6. "For our part, it is usually better to simply share the message of the saving grace of the Lord, and allow Him to change the heart (Proverbs 15:1)."

Then I guess you don't follow all of Scripture's admonitions, just the easy part... to avoid controversy? Isn't Scripture useful for correcting and reproof? Because of your "hands-off" approach to correction, I suggest you meditate more on Matthew 18:17. Ask yourself: "Why did our Lord Jesus say this? What did he want us to do?"

I also suggest that you read and ponder this well-known verse, and consider it's actual application in life:

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

7. "We are to be responsible stewards of where our money goes and how it is used. Remember that it all belongs to Him anyway, not just a portion of it. So when you give, give with wisdom, responsibility and rejoicing."

I agree completely. We are also called to be good "stewards." All Christians are a part of God's Kingdom; we are to love and care for each other. A good steward does not look the other way when he sees his master's money being stolen. The parts of the Body of Christ should be feeding and encouraging each other (1 Corin. 12).

8. "When necessary, the Lord will do battle with those that need it."

This is not about battle, but following ALL the advice in the Bible about rebuking a fellow believer, in the hopes of restoring both the individual and the health of the church Matthew 18:15-17 .

Richard, again, deep appreciation to you for at least reading the petition and responding... much more than many others do. I do hope that you'll reconsider and sign the petition to Pastor Hagee: http://raydehler.com/fgn/ .

By the way, I don't understand why Pastor Laurie is on the TBN channel (read this article to see the seriousness of it: http://www.equip.org/free/JAT260.htm ). TBN is at the forefront of corrupting the Gospel of Christ with it's false prosperity gospel of "health and wealth." By being on TBN, you are validating it's existence. If Satan had a Christian TV network, to pollute the gospel, would you join it? That's what TBN is; a polluted gospel network. I figure your ministry may respond "that is were many viewers are, so we hold out the truth to them." However, I think you are doing more to confuse viewers by validating the TBN TV network through partnership with them. It would be best to leave TBN alone and let them self-destruct (Philippians 3:19). You are helping to keep them alive by partnering with them financially through your productions.

Keep the good work in proclaiming Jesus!

Sincerely,

Bernie Dehler (Bernie@FreeGoodNews.com)
Director, FreeGoodNews.com

Letter 2: Richard's Reply:

Hi Bernie,

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Harvest Online. My name is Richard and I am a part of the correspondence team for Harvest Ministries. I am responding to your e-mail on behalf of Pastor Greg Laurie and his staff.

We cannot judge each other’s heart on how the Lord speaks to each one through the Holy Spirit on what we should and should not do in standing up against unrighteousness, unless it is clearly against God’s Word. In general, the Bible does not instruct us to make big protests against greediness, but rather the battle belongs to the Lord, and we are to do our part primarily through prayer, as we are taught from Ephesians 6.

While we are to speak up against unrighteousness, it has become almost a given that Christians are more against everyone and everything than for them. We need to share His love more than His wrath. Going up against greediness in the pulpit even with tact and dignity can bring about some serious consequences, so we are to count the cost. It is very easy sometimes to try to do the right thing but in the wrong way (Philippians 4:6). The Lord Himself knows when to become physical, as in John 2 and Matthew 21, and drive out the greedy religious leaders. For our part, it is usually better to simply share the message of the saving grace of the Lord, and allow Him to change the heart (Proverbs 15:1). We are to be responsible stewards of where our money goes and how it is used. Remember that it all belongs to Him anyway, not just a portion of it. So when you give, give with wisdom, responsibility and rejoicing. When necessary, the Lord will do battle with those that need it.

Your brother in Christ

Richard

Letter 1: Email to Harvest Ministries asking them to read/sign the petition at http://raydehler.com/fgn/ . Simple letter of introduction, not shown.

Please continue to send me feedback on the shows, webcasts, articles, etc. to: feedback@FreeGoodNews.com .

...Bernie
Dir., FreeGoodNews.com

For previous e-letters, click here or go to: http://fgn-letters.blogspot.com/ .

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