ORU - Senator Grassley - Damazio
Posted on November 28th, 2007 by catalyst into the City Boobie Church categoryIt's funny how these three are all connected.
I did not know this, but guess who serves on the Board of Regents at Oral Roberts University:
Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn and Creflo Dollar. Three of the regents under investigation by the U.S. Senate. They were among six televangelists who received letters from Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.
And guess who attended Oral Roberts University:
Pastor Frank Damazio is a graduate of Portland Bible College and holds a Bachelor of Theology degree and a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University.
And what do ORU, the Regents and D-Maz all have in common? They all believe in the "Prosperity Doctrine".
Sadly, if recent events are any guide, I don't think the "Prosperity Doctrine" believes in them.
RSS feed for posts
November 28th, 2007 at 7:43 am
Hey, now, malcontent with the prosperity doctrine throughout the faculty, alumni, and student ranks at ORU is what got the Robertses overthrown. So now it appears that ORU version 2.0 is “prosperity free.”
Well, that new little 70 million dollar donation aside, anyway.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:48 am
And don’t expect Copeland, Dollar, and Hinn to be around much longer. The three were absent from the two day Board of Regents meeting, which resulted in the divorce of ORU from OREA, and the hunt for a new university president. BOR reform is next on the punch list, I hear.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:05 am
You’re right. They do seem to be on the right path. And 70 million is a nice little gift. I do wonder what other strings are attached to that gift, but it does seem the school is going to survive and come out better for it.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:18 am
“Meet the new boss … same as the old boss …”
November 28th, 2007 at 8:47 am
For anyone interested, CNN Evening News, cable channel 44, has been carring various reports this week on the preachers/teachers of the Prosperity Gospel.
Those people are really good at covering thie backsides and justifying their extreme wealth, aka, numerous multi-million $$$ mansions, private jet planes and other priveleges of the very, very wealthy in our society.
Larry King, among others, has been interviewing some of them. They are so good at deceit they don’t seem to squirm even a small bit at hard questions from the show hosts. They even set themselves up as examples to the Prospity Gospel. OOOOOhhhhh! I’ve got to go puke !!!!
Tune in to CNN.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Anybody see Paula White on Larry King the other night? STRA-A-A-A-ANGE! She seems to be able to justify anything she does, from no-fault divorce to questionable financial dealings at her ministry.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Spoke with a friend the other day about all of this and he observed: “the beast has turned on the whore” (Revelation 17:16) … we do indeed live in interesting times, Bloggy.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:04 am
I’m reserving judgment on this one. One of the strings attached to the $70M is that Mart Green, the deep pocket donor, wants two seats on the BOR for him and his dad, but only for three years to ensure the money is being managed well. Sounds decent enough to me. If by “meet the new boss” you mean this donor, at least he has some business savvy, and isn’t a televangelist.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:19 am
No, I don’t mean the donor, Bloggy. I just mean that every attempt at reform falls short and for whomever takes the reigns in the future, there’s temptation waiting for them.
Concerning the “presidential compound” the Roberts’ lived in, will that be razed and the new president given more humble accommodations? Just wondering - in that some comments have suggested it is a symbol of opulence - so whoever lives there has a potential image problem - and if it is truly a mansion, there must be considerable expense in its upkeep. On the other hand, if it were opened to the faculty and students for fellowship and to establish open communication, that could be a means of accountability and communication.
Whoever steps in for Roberts has to deal with the trappings of wealth / extravagance left behind - lest he be viewed as “same as the old boss” - you know?
November 28th, 2007 at 10:10 am
That’s a great point. Actually, there are nine houses in the Presidential compound. Talk about excess! Richard and Lindsey lived in a 6,000 square foot mansion valued at 1.4 million dollars.
I think a better solution would be to bulldoze the walls around all nine houses, give the future president one of the more modest homes to live in, and use the remaining buildings for university use or sell them for the endowment.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:13 am
yeap,
Here is the link..
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/11/27/lkl.creflo.dollar.cnn?iref=videosearch
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2007/11/26/lkl.paula.white.CNN?iref=videosearch
Enjoy!
November 28th, 2007 at 10:27 am
ooopps
one more..!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/10/10/oru.suit/index.html?iref=newssearch#cnnSTCVideo
November 28th, 2007 at 10:43 am
In re-reading this, the 70 million won’t actually be given to ORU until the Green family has a chance to review the finances of the school. I wonder if the money is going to be dolled out slowly over the next several years, ensuring that the school remains under the control of the Green family.
If you’re 50 million in debt, and the person giving you 70 million says “jump”. Your only real answer is “how hi?”.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I watched the press conference yesterday, and that question was asked. His reply was that (paraphrased), his family isn’t interested in university administration. They only want to be involved as long as they have to be. The remaining $62M is sitting in a fund, awaiting confirmation from the Green’s financial review, then it will be entirely released after a “good governance” plan is established. I’m sure there will be an army of legal counsel involved.
But you’re exactly right; it’s too soon to rule out anything.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I ran across this blog entry at The Change Revolution from one of ORU’s former Vice Presidents:
“I understand from press reports that Lindsay stepped down from the Board of Regents about one month ago. Oral and Richard are still Lifetime Spiritual Regents, but do not have a vote concerning University business.
As an alumnus and former VP at ORU I am pleased to see the changes announced today while at the same time I’m aware of how difficult this situation must have been on the Roberts family. Oral always treated me well, and the talk we had after I resigned from ORU is still the context I use when trying to determine if someone is a big person. Oral is a big person. Flawed like us all, but a great man.
From a Pentecostal background where education was shunned, he broke free and built a remarkable university. Organizations go through stages of development, just like humans and other organic life. In the founding stages, it’s usually a strong, stubborn, dynamic and charismatic leader needed to bulldoze the obstacles and maintain an almost militaristic authority structure that is geared to “take land” and conquer opposition.
But as organizations mature, their leadership needs change as management becomes more important to build stability and excellence. Rather than a singular Patton-like personality, a maturing organization requires someone less individualistic. Somebody who is more team minded. Like Phil Jackson. Still strong, but a consensus builder. This also leads to changes in the rank and file as people whose main talent was carrying out the edicts of the founder give way to people who want more autonomy and insist on having input and being respected as leaders in their own right.
It’s hard for a founder to embrace the change needed to move on to a professionally managed organization, because it requires a cultural shift that is foreign. I hope Oral will be able to embrace the difficult changes announced today and realize that his successor is ORU (not another human), and for the university to flourish he must let go of his life’s work and entrust it into the hands of others. But like I said, Oral is a big man, and I believe he will once again show his stature in blessing this new era at ORU before he passes on.
Richard inherited an organization beset by problems in 1993. He made some progress, but he also made some enemies as did Lindsay. And neither had the stature of the founder to garner the respect needed to run a militaristic organization. The culture of the founder simply could not be sustained by anyone else. And not knowing any other way, Richard did the best he could for as long as he could. But the university languished because the old culture could not carry her into a glorious future.
And I think that is the pivot point here. To survive and have any hope to thrive there had to be a cultural change. And for that to take place there had to be a leadership change. I don’t know if any of the charges attached to the lawsuit are true. Most seem rather dubious to me. I think the lawsuit was just a catalyst that brought long standing organizational flaws to light.
And now today the seeds of a new era have been planted. How they are tended and watered will be telling in the years and hopefully decades ahead.
I’m with you, Phil. I hope Richard will find his personal destiny and will flourish as never before. He tended the tiller at ORU for 15 difficult years. He made mistakes, but he also did some good things. And he piloted the ship to this place in history where a new captain can be installed and a new culture can be infused.
It’s a day of hope, a hour of healing, and a time of new beginnings all the way around.”
November 28th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Hold on to your hats, because I hear he, like WS, and will soon add a doctorate — my guess is the D.Min. — to his M.Div, thus joining the elite ranks of the “doctored” pastors of MFI, courtesy of
RRORU.According to their current catalog, the D.Min. is only 37.5 hours past the M.Div. which is pretty minimal, as most seminaries I’m aware of require a minimum of 45 — and usually 60 hours — past the M.Div. to earn a doctorate. Any way you slice it, it seems all too easy.
I wonder which costs more — out of pocket — in today’s market…a D.D. or a D.Min?
-joe
November 28th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
So my sister “doctored” the punch at a birthday party I was at last week. Is this similar?
November 29th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Downright mirror images, I’d say.
So, how many cups were ya able to down before feigning ignorance?
-joe
November 29th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I guffawed at that one!
You been sharpenin’ yo ice pic joe?
November 29th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
If PFM gets his D-Min does that mean he will deserve a major pay hike?
Will that increase his ability to up the ante in tithing?
Just wondering.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Very funny.
I think I inherited the anti-drinking gene from my mom. I’m sensitive to alcohol and can tolerate maybe a 1/2 cup of wine or (in this case) maybe 3-4 oz punch. More than that and I start to feel lousy.
Now if only I had inherited the anti-Tostitos gene….
November 30th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Now there’s a good word. Kinda like chortle, cackle, and snigger. I just love how one’s vocabulary improves merely by reading this noble blog. Who wudda thot?
That’s funny. Me too, I’m the same way. Which is one reason I don’t imbibe.
Gotta bag in the kitchen as we speak, so I feelya on that one. How bout downloading…
- the anti-Cheez Whiz gene,
- the anti-whipped butter gene,
- the anti-french fries gene,
- the anti-Corn Nuts gene,
(I could go on all day)
…from the net? It’d make millions.
-joeb
November 30th, 2007 at 7:48 am
I’m surprised you didn’t list the anti-Pork-rind gene.
November 30th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Joebib,
Do you know the word ‘onomatopoeia’?
:)
December 1st, 2007 at 3:24 am
Ya mean like boom, crack, moo, meow, cock-a-doodle-doo, and roar?
-joe
December 1st, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Yes. I appreciate your appreciation for onomatopoeic words.
December 2nd, 2007 at 3:54 am
Reminds me of the time — geez, 30 years ago, or so — my roommate Steve and myself were at the Burger Country on 82nd down across from Montavilla Park, having lunch.
PBC teacher KM, who was there with WS having lunch themselves — in the adjacent saddles — overheard us using that word, and asked us what it meant. We proceeded to explain it to him, giving loud examples thereof.
This girl I had been liking just happened to be working the counter at that moment — and well — let’s just say that demonstration effectively ruined my chances with her. Heh-heh.
I do remember thinking how ironic it was for two young punk students having to explain something to their teacher, and that an ORU alumnus should’ve known better. FWIW, I also suspected WS didn’t know what it meant, either.
NTTABT, nor that not knowing the meaning of highfalutin words matters in the slightest. Just sayin.
I appreciate your appreciation of me. Would that others were as perceptive.
BTW, ever noticed my use of alliteration? Quite clever.
But only when “led” to do so, of course.
-joe
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 am
I was an English major in college…I live for things like alliteration.
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:25 pm
This is most likely the guy married to Chris now.. But DARN.. I cannot figure out who you are joe… already ruled out lance. REALLY doubt you are kraker as I think he is under spws’ spell. Truly doubt you are Scott from Indiana. Trying to remember who else was in that group…
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:58 am
I wish!
J/K
You’ll never know, CC.
-joe
December 11th, 2007 at 7:29 am
Creflo Dollar and Benny Hinn are out as board members of ORU.
Let the purge begin!