Posted on 03/10/2016 12:15:02 AM PST by ppaul
Just when controversial pastor Mark Driscoll was hoping to make a new start, former members of his old stomping grounds at Seattle’s Mars Hill Church have filed a lawsuit alleging Driscoll and his chief elder ran the now-shuttered megachurch like an organized crime syndicate, in which church members became unwitting participants.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the Western District of Washington U.S. District Court in Seattle under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a law originally created for prosecution of Mafia figures.
Former members have been threatening to file such a lawsuit for months to find out just where the members’ donations—some $30 million yearly, according to church reports—actually went...
“Driscoll and Turner engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity so deeply embedded, pervasive and continuous, that it was effectively institutionalized as a business practice, thereby corrupting the very mission Plaintiffs and other donors believed they were supporting.”
Elder Dave Bruskas, Mars Hill CFO Kerry Dodd, several corporations believed to hold some profits from Driscoll’s book Real Marriage, and a supposed financial standards watchdog—the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability—are all named as co-conspirators in the complaint.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
Hmmm. I wonder how Farrakhan runs The Nation of Islam, and when that indictment is coming down?
Driscoll and Turner..
Driscollini and Turneretto.
There. Fixed it.
Can I get away with that because i’m Italian American? :)
on a serious note, it’s disgusting what they’ve done. and it’s as old as civilization.
Not all televangelists are corrupt... but the church has its share of hucksters and scam artists whose only interest in preaching the gospel and doing good works is not to honor God and glorify His Name on earth but to line their own pockets.
Which Mark Driscoll appeared to do and being with a RICO lawsuit is a first of the federal anti-racketeering law against a religious organization. People who don’t set an example show us the difference between venality and true faith. The love of God doesn’t give a preacher license to mock God. And whoever mocks God will find his days in this world numbered.
Be careful of your tongue and your deeds, you cannot hide your secrets from your Heavenly Father and what is done in darkness will be made known to men in open daylight. Do not be led into temptation and always live in the fear of Heaven. For your true treasures are not on the earth but are found above and walk in the light and be sure you are as holy as God is holy in all your comings in and comings out so you will be the Child Of God you were born to be.
Farrakhan makes no pretense that he is a follower of Jesus Christ, nor do I think he is making appeals to those who call themselves Christians to give money to help missions work in Africa and India - and then using those funds for other purposes. Am I mistaken?
RICO has been used in Scientology-related cases before—both against the Church of Scientology including specifically Tom Cruise and by the Scientologists against their targets. In both cases I believe it was dismissed.
In this case, the RICO lawsuit is not against the church or religious organization. It appears to be against individual defendants who allegedly conspired and used the church in furtherance of their racket.
ha
Or that melanometric, melon headed weasel, Al Sharpton!
Mega Church Ping
How DARE you insult weasels!!!
Not to defend Driscoll but that is exactly the model used by red cross, denominations, and a host of other charities. Their budgets are fungible. That is the bottom line. If they decide 10000 is going to Burundi, then your designated 1000 to Burundi will be said to go there. Their target will then drop to 9000. With your 1000 that will equal their planned 10000. Nothing has changed. If they get 11000 in designated money, then 1000 will be pushed to the next year’s budget for burundi. Apparently, that’s legal.
And it's Federal. Anyone care to list all the Amendments--not to mention provisions of the main document--that this violates?
Yes, they've used it to go after some bad people, but so what? It's also used all over the place, by law enforcement and ambulance-chasing lawyers in private practice, for extortion. Hard cases make bad law.
The United Way comes to mind...
Good words, FRiend. Thanks.
Not that I support Driscoll, I think he's a dork.
The White House calling the collection Kettle ...black.
I think they operate similarly. I’m not sure.
We have found it’s better to send the money directly to a church or organization working in a disaster area. We had a tornado here in our part of the state about 2 years ago and knew a church in that vicinity. They used the money that we sent them directly for the affected people.
I could have sent it to the denomination designated for them, but the shell game explained above is exactly how they operate.
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