Rev. Rice rebels against today's material world (Joyce Meyer Ministry and others pulled off air)

St Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 01/15/2004 | Sylvester Brown, Jr.

[Terriergal]

"Life in the Word does not mean life in the streets."

These words were plastered on signs carried by homeless women outside the Edward Jones Dome in late October. Inside, TV evangelist Joyce Meyer held her International Women's Convention.

Perhaps the homeless need to pick their venues more carefully. More than 15,000 women were expected to attend the three-day event. They spent big bucks, dressed up in fancy duds, and came downtown for an evening of spiritual uplift. Being confronted by the homeless must be a bit of a downer. The Rev. Larry Rice said he heard that Meyer's security officers had hustled the homeless women out of the area.

[Terriergal]

SOMEONE finally stood up to these charlatans! Please, Lord, let more follow suit!

A good site (which we support also) which keeps up to date with exposing the error in prominent televangelist ministries and others (and which alerted me to this stand taken by Channel 24) is

Discernment Ministry International.

(methinks they need a better proofreader though)

[sinkspur]

There's a guy in Dallas who has made it his life's work to get Robert Tilton off the air (he was successful) and to keep him off (he's still on in syndication). Ollie Anthony did good work.

Sounds like Rice does as well. Kenneth Copeland's folksy God-will-make-you-rich nonsense is as non-biblical and contrary to the New Testament as anything since the Reverend Ike bilked poor blacks in New Orleans.

[shaggy eel]

,,, "prosperity preachers" is the perfect term for it! I hope he hasn't put a copyright on that one, I can get some mileage out of it.

[cavtrooper21]

Sounds like someone chasing the Pharisees out of the temple...
Good for him. Didn't see a link... (HINT!)

[HarleyD]

Somehow a website "devoted" to exposing people who are making money on the gospel by selling you books on the subject seems just a little bit hypocritical in my mind. Perhaps they should list themselves?

Some of these people should be exposed. But just because someone makes money off of preaching the gospel (even a lot of money) is not an indication of anything and neither is how they use it. That's between God and them.

As for us, we should reflect on what we have and how we are using what we have and be wise stewarts. When we start judging others by what they have we are in jeapody of introducing jealosy and envy into our lives-both of which are works of the flesh.

[Marysecretary]

Good reply, HarleyD. Joyce Meyer's ministry has helped countless thousands of people. She's not exactly my cup of tea but I know a lot of people who have been helped tremendously by her videos, tapes, books. She's down to earth and practical. I'm not saying she's perfect because nobody is, but it's easy to criticize people just because they have a product to sell and they do well on it. God is the one who prospers people who are sold out to Him. Not every one is rich but everyone prospers, at least spiritually, from His generosity.

[sinkspur]

But just because someone makes money off of preaching the gospel (even a lot of money) is not an indication of anything and neither is how they use it. That's between God and them.

Actually, if they represent themselves as ministers of the Gospel, others are free to question their interpretation of the message of the One who had nowhere to lay His Head.

These quacks have a right to speak, but they have no right to be heard.

[HarleyD]

"Actually, if they represent themselves as ministers of the Gospel, others are free to question their interpretation"

I totally agree. There are many false teachers.

I'm not sure if questioning one's wealth is a measure (look at Solomon). Certainly we should always question interpretation of scripture.

[dangus]

Sounds like Dr. Rice is a petty, vindictive little man. What *sepcifically* does he object to with Dr. Meyers' minsitry, besides their little squabble?

[Onelifetogive]

Sounds like Dr. Rice is a petty, vindictive little man.

Agreed! This stinks...

Rice told me he stands to lose nearly $200,000 each year, about half of the station's air time income, from canceling the shows. But, he adds, the response for his decision has been phenomenal.

"I've never seen such a public groundswell of support," Rice said. "Churches and ministers are writing, praying and supporting. People are sending donations and requesting memberships to our ministry."

Unlike the preachers kicked off KNLC, Rice doesn't seem swayed by the mighty dollar. He stands by his convictions.

Am I missing something??? HE SEEMS TO BE ALL ABOUT MONEY. HIS MONEY!

[dangus]

As a Roman Catholic, I'm instinctively suspicious of "prosperity preachers." Catholics' attitudes towards money range from, at best, "You can't serve both God and Mamon" to, at worst, "Money is [the root of all] Evil." The examples of the Catholic Saints so often includes destitute poverty.

I'm not a regular fan of Joyce Meyers, but I've found her to be a little antidote to the self-limiting notion of Catholic (Small-T!) traditional attitude of money being necessarily and inherently evil, but I've never seen her lapse into promising ungoldy riches and material rewards the way the classic preachers who gave televangelism a bad name did.

Please note what I mean by "Small T!" I don't mean to scandalize my own church. I mean merely that many Catholics have a negative attitude towards money, not that this represents Catholic teaching!

[Onelifetogive]

I'm not a regular fan of Joyce Meyers...

I am not familiar with Joyce Meyers...but among members of my church, the Assemblies of God, she is well-respected. Past experience leads me to believe that I can trust the opinions of most others in the A of G...

[dangus]

I think Rice is trying to say, "Look, I gave up this much money, I'm so committed to my beliefs!" And if true and sincere, that makes sense... But the other facts seem to contradict this.

What tips me off is that he measures how worthwhile his actions are by the fact that he is recooping the money he has lost.

It's possible the article unintentionally smears Rev. Rice, but it makes it seem like his homeless shelter was conceived of as a way to block development. The guy sounds like the community activist/politician brand of preacher that has destroyed black Christianity across so much of the nations' inner cities.

[Askel5]

I used to watch Joyce Meyer YEARS ago ... back when she had a real face with wrinkles, real (cheap) clothes and a real message.

But once I realized she'd cozied up to the Oral Roberts crowd (I grew up down the street from them), I figured it was just a matter of time until her message became a pat set of platitudes embossed with Love around the Gift plate.

Particularly when "the spirit moved her" to turn over her first ORU Mabee Center take to the Roberts.


The only evangelist that turns my head anymore is that guy whose radio/TV taping sessions appear to take place mid-service and who always peppers his speech with "Listen..." Can't think of his name at the moment but he's not changed one bit since the first time I saw him and always impresses me.

[Askel5]

=== "prosperity preachers" is the perfect term for it! I hope he hasn't put a copyright on that one, I can get some mileage out of it.

"I'll race ya!!"


I have never quite understood how it came to be that "God's blessings" somehow translated to financial success and material largesse.

[dangus]

More info on Rice:

* Main census department contact person for perpetrating overcount fraud in St. Louis
* Sued the state for the right to video tape and broadcast an execution, claiming it was his first amendment right to have access. (I don't like death penalty, but I despise this liberal BS wsy of getting rid of it!)
* Big time into global warming hysteria, anti-corporation, etc.
* This guy has quite a financial empire!

Also...
Meyers' show runs on another, much larger channel in St. Louis at the same time. Pulling that show only made sense of KNLC, except Meyers had an agreement to braodcast her daily show. When KNLC bad-mouthed her as an excuse for pulling the weekly show, she pulled her whole lineup, badly hurting KNLC. Now KNLC is spinning it as if they pulled her show as part of a "purity from Mamon" schtick, but it's plain that this is only spin: they wanted her show and she won't let them have it. They meant to only pull one hour; they lost eight, and they're trying to use the press to recoop their losses.

Since when is the Compost-Pissrash a good source for religion articles?

(oh, and ping Sinkspur to my other comments on this thread!)

[Quester]

The only evangelist that turns my head anymore is that guy whose radio/TV taping sessions appear to take place mid-service and who always peppers his speech with "Listen..." Can't think of his name at the moment but he's not changed one bit since the first time I saw him and always impresses me.

This is Charles Stanley, of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His television/radio program is titled ... 'In Touch'.

Reverend Stanley has battled many difficulties in his life, from the time of his childhood, and, especially has a word of encouragement for those who are hurting.

I've also listened, on occasion, to Joyce Meyer.

She, too, seems to be encouraging to her listeners.

She has testified that it took a long time before her ministry becsme as (materially) successful as it is now.

I haven't kept up with her, so I haven't heard of the interactions you speak of involving the Roberts.

However, even back when I was watching her, ... I could see her ignoring the plight of the homeless (as was spoken of in the article)... or appearing to do so.

Her ministry tends to travel to different areas to do ministerial conferences, and I can see her not wanting anything to interfere with her schedule.

I believe that the most gracious thing that can be said is that the homeless are not her target area of ministry. I would say that she caters more to the middle class.

That isn't to say, though, that I can't see her quietly making a sizable contribution to the city's homeless shelters/ministries.

[shaggy eel]

I have never quite understood how it came to be that "God's blessings" somehow translated to financial success and material largesse.

,,, great work if you can get it, but your soul goes west in the process. It's the culture you're in. Somewhere like South America or maybe the Philippines, it wouldn't be a business, the way it can be in the US.

Good to see you; it's been a long while.

[Askel5]

Thanks very much ... you're correct -- Charles Stanley is he of whom I spoke. I have always enjoyed him very much any time I chanced to hear him on TV or radio.

[Onelifetogive]

Now KNLC is spinning it as if they pulled her show as part of a "purity from Mamon" schtick, but it's plain that this is only spin...

I suspected something fishy was going on here...