10 Church Leaders Surrounded by Scandal

The following article if presented by www.christiancollegesonline.org. I think that it is important to lean from the examples of the past and looks for ways to protect your church from falling to the same sinful scandals. I am not supporting or denying the facts of these statements. I am just bringing them to my readers for consideration within their own church. Make sure to click the link to the article for full video and specific details.

"If Ben Franklin were writing today, he’d likely say that nothing in this world is certain but death, taxes, and religious scandal. There have been so many church leaders plagued by scandal that Wikipedia has an entire category devoted to cataloguing the ways various men and women of God found themselves brought low by lust, anger, or good old-fashioned greed. The people on this list are notable not just for their mistakes, but ultimately how ordinary they are: they slept with the wrong person, bought the wrong house, etc. These are the church leaders who’ve shot themselves in the feet, and who might be forgiven but will never be forgotten."

1) Ted Haggard
2) Jim Bakker
3) Pope Benedict XVI
4) Henry Lyons
5) George Alan Rekers
6) Joe Barron
7) Coy Privette
8) Earl Paulk
9) Lonnie Latham
10) Fred Phelps

Click for Article

Bishop Shot and Killed in CA Church on Sunday

VISALIA, Utah - "Police in California are investigating the deadly shooting of a bishop at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The shooting happened Sunday afternoon in Visalia, Calif."

Click for Article

Church Member Burns Building in Revenge

"The Orlando Fire Department arson unit said today it had made an arrest in connection with a fire at a building owned by a church...Church members immediately told investigators that the fire had been set by Johnson, who had been asked to leave the premises after an argument earlier in the evening with the church's pastor."

Click for Article

(H/T Matt Larson)

Pastor: My right to bear arms was violated

"A pastor from Elizabethton said police in Washington D.C. violated his right to bear arms -- during the July Fourth weekend.

William Duncan started preaching the gospel 33 years ago.

On July second, he pulled into a Holiday Inn parking lot with two loaded handguns under the driver's seat. The hotel shares a parking lot with the Federal Emergency Management Agency."

Click for Article

What is your opinion on this article? Was the pastor right or the police officer?

Gunman Robbed Political Candidate Outside Miami Church

"A gunman robbed 17th Congressional District candidate Marleine Bastien on Saturday, turning the campaign trail into a crime scene.

The 51-year-old community activist was outside a North Miami church where she was going to meet voters before Tuesday's primary. She is one of nine Democrats running for U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's seat."

Click for Article

Bingo Scam Cheated Church out of $830K

"A tip about illegal side bets at a Queens bingo hall led to a much bigger crime: a fraud scheme that cheated a church out of $830,000, officials say.

Two men and a woman were arrested yesterday on charges they conned the Greek Orthodox Church into lending its good name for a bingo license, which must be sponsored by a charity."

Click for Article

Three Children at a Denver Church Sexually Assaulted

DENVER (AP) — "A man suspected of sexually assaulting at least three young children at a Denver church day care center is due in court Monday to be advised of charges against him.

Nineteen-year-old Benjamin Janicki is charged with three counts each of sexual assault on a child and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, and prosecutors say more charges are possible. His bond has been set at $650,000."

Click for Link

Embezzled more than $360,000 from their Baptist church

GASTONIA, N.C. (ABP) -- A North Carolina couple made their first court appearance Aug. 12 on charges that they embezzled more than $360,000 from their Baptist church.

According to media reports, Alan Roland, 55, was treasurer and Sunday school superintendent at Way of the Cross Baptist Church in Mount Holly, N.C. His wife, Linda, 55, was the assistant treasurer and church secretary. Together, police say, they wrote 811 checks to themselves totaling $366,156 over the last three years.

Click for Article

2 killed in Crash Outside Maryland Church

"One Mass had just ended Sunday at a Catholic church in Maryland. People were walking away. Suddenly, a car driven by a woman arriving for the next service struck three of those who were leaving.

A few minutes after 11 on a warm summer morning, shouts and screams broke out in front of St. Joseph's Church in the Frederick County town of Emmitsburg.

Two of those who had just attended Mass were killed. A third, an 89-year-old woman, was injured."

Click for Article

Thief Steals Church Offerings During Church

NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - "How low can one go? Someone apparently during the middle of morning worship service had their mind on something other than ‘praise and worship,' according to a Nacogdoches Police report.

While church members worshipped close by, thieves were brazenly helping themselves to the Sunday morning offerings at Christian Life Center Church."

Click For Article

11-year-old Girl Molested at Church

SALINAS, Calif. -- A church youth counselor pleaded guilty Thursday to molesting an 11-year-old girl at church, according to prosecutor Cristina Johnson.

Erick Mendoza, 21, of Salinas, pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under 14. He will be sentenced on Sept. 9 to 12 years in prison.

Click for Article

Are you looking for a background check company? Check out IntelliCorp and see ow they can help your needs!

Interview with Gainsville Times

I was contacted by a reporter yesterday from the Gainsville Times in Georgia. It was a good interview related to why churches need to take church security seriously. Below are a few of my quotes and a link to the article

Click for Article

"Places of worship can be more vulnerable to burglaries than commercial or residential buildings, said Brian Gallagher, who runs the website “Security At Church.”
 

“A church is a little different because it’s viewed as an easier target,” he said. “The majority of churches don’t have alarm systems.
 

Churches as a whole are a decade behind the curve from other industries in seeing the need for security.”

A Decade of Vandals and Burglars!

"A Lehigh Acres church that has been the target of vandals and burglars for more than a decade has sustained another setback.
 

All Lehigh Community Baptist Church's 22 windows were shattered from the inside, causing an estimated $5,300 in damages, according to a Lee County Sheriff's Office report."
 

Click for Article

Fire Ravages Historic Church

SOUTH LONDONDERRY, VT -- "No one was hurt as a raging inferno tore through the historic First Baptist Church of South Londonderry early Tuesday morning, firefighters said. 

The 70 foot steeple at the front of the church, an icon of the area for anyone driving along Route 100, is no more. 

At about 3 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire at 62 Crescent St., said Chief George Lang of the Champion Fire Station in South Londonderry. 

Lang said the damages to the church are in the ballpark of $1.5 million. He added that the cause of the fire is still undetermined, but it is not believed to be suscipious."

Click for Article

Does your Church have an Alarm?

GREEN BAY (WFRV) - "Green Bay police have arrested a man they say broke into a Green Bay church early this morning.

Authorities say the alarm went off around 2 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral."

Click for Article

Introducing cPRIME

Over the last week I have been introduced to a product called cPRIME. It is a bracelet that has a nano-technology microchip installed on the inside of it. The product incorporates a proprietary patent-pending technology that acts as a bioantenna, altering the way your body interacts with its electromagnetic environment, which may help to balance and optimize biological responses. I have tested the product myself and like the results that I have observed. Studies have shown improvement in Strength, Balance, Performance, Flexibility and Endurance.

Click for cPRIME website