Stories by Sally Kestin |South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“To a chorus of “Amens” and “Thank You, Jesus,” the Rev. Daniel S. Mundell tells followers God will free them of debt, even make them millionaires.

Then comes the sales pitch: Back up your faith with donations. Give, even if it’s your last $100. Write a check. Pay by credit card.

Preaching mostly to a low-income following, the Hallandale Beach-based evangelist has raised millions of dollars through services and crusades in South Florida and across the country.

Former followers say the only one who seemed to attain wealth was the preacher.

Before starting New Generation Ministries in 1991, Mundell had filed for bankruptcy protection and lost a home in a foreclosure. By 2005, he was living in a $1.8 million estate in Safety Harbor, near Tampa, with basketball and tennis courts and a putting green.

The ministry paid the preacher $206,000 in 2005 and once provided him a Mercedes-Benz, a Jaguar and a Corvette, according to court records.

Mundell, 55, declined to be interviewed, citing “pending litigation.” His wife of 20 years and former co-pastor, Kimberly, filed for divorce in October.

“I’m not going to deny that it was lucrative,” Kimberly Mundell told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

For 10 years, Mundell preached in the Fort Lauderdale area at the Solid Rock Family Worship Center under the umbrella of New Generation. He raised money for a new church but then left the congregation in 2004. The church was never built.” Read more…

Pastors’ raising of funds largely unchecked
“When it comes to raising money in the name of God, the government gives preachers a wide berth.

“As for regulations, there aren’t many,” said William Martin, a religion fellow at Rice University in Houston. “There just really isn’t very much oversight.”

Preachers can be charged criminally with fraud if they solicit donations for a particular cause with no intention of carrying it out, said Phillip Umphres, a former federal prosecutor in Dallas. “The intent is everything,” he said.

The Internal Revenue Service considers churches nonprofit organizations that are exempt from federal income tax. IRS rules restrict how much ministers can benefit from churches, said Kenneth Behr, former president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a watchdog group.” Read more…

The Rev. Daniel Mundell challenges the faithful to dig deep
“After closing his South Florida congregation in 2004 without building a church as he’d said, the Rev. Daniel S. Mundell started a minister’s school in Norfolk, Va. last year and talked of opening a church there. Within several months, Mundell was gone. In a videotaped class last spring, Mundell solicited donations, telling students it marked the beginning of a long-lasting relationship:

“When I came in last night, God began to speak to me about today, and I know it was God because I got flooded with all kind of real estate stuff, papers, properties, and believe me I don’t take you for granted. I am thankful that God is yoking all of us together because this is an eternity thing. This ain’t something for today and gone tomorrow . . . . Today I’m going to challenge all the students in your giving. Everybody say, ‘In my giving.’ . . . When you give, it’ll be given back 100 fold. I’m telling you today, today’s offering is going to be the first offering going in to the property, not because I need it. You need to give and you need to sow in something that God is with, and if you don’t believe God is with this, I don’t know if you’ll ever become a believer because what you’re witnessing right now, and you should know I’m telling the truth, is a miracle.” Read more…

FALWELL CONFIDENTIAL From: Jonathan Falwell

“Ten students at an Ohio public high school recently learned that voicing your pro-life beliefs can be a tricky proposition.

As in similar cases across the country over the last few years, officials in the Anthony Wayne Local School District told the students that they must either take off the shirts, turn them inside-out or face stiff penalties, including suspension.

The students wore the pro-life T-shirts to class on April 21 to mark the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. Kristen Norman, one of the pro-life students, told Toledo’s WTOL that the participating young people were willing to face the penalties, but district officials added on more punishments.

“We were told we would not be able to go to our senior prom, would not be able to participate in senior skip days, go to a senior picnic or walk at graduation,” Kristen, a senior, said.

They learned a tough lesson: taking a stand often comes with a price.

The students’ T-shirts were admittedly pointed. The front of the shirts read: “Abortion is Murder.” The back of the shirts read: “You will not silence my message / You will not mock my God / You will stop killing my generation.” But the message is important.

The T-shirts are distributed by Rock for Life (www.rockforlife.org), an affiliate organization of American Life League (ALL), which promotes the annual Pro-Life T-Shirt Day on the last Tuesday of every April.

My dad heavily promoted the National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day in his National Liberty Journal newspaper and in other venues during the latter part of his life. He was excited about it, understanding the importance of continually raising up new generations of young people who recognize that abortion is the taking of innocent life.

I too see this effort as an essential part of the pro-life movement. It is imperative that we teach our young people the importance of protecting and defending life, especially among the weakest of us.

That’s why this situation puzzles me. I would think that schools would value having students who are socially involved and attempting to positively impact their culture. Sadly, political correctness punishes such efforts because they counter the “mainstream” viewpoint. Apparently, there is no room for individuality at many public schools.

As for the ten Ohio students, I see them as important culture warriors who were willing to take a stand against the mainstream. Thankfully, they are receiving some legal help. Kristen and her friends have been referred to the Thomas More Law Center, a pro-life law firm that specializes in protecting civil liberties.

ALL’s staff attorney, Andrew Flusche, said, “We commend these courageous students for standing up to bullying by their school administrators for simply voicing their pro-life beliefs. When students become excited about life, schools should support that.”

Mr. Flusche noted that the High Court “consistently protects the First Amendment rights of students, even inside the classroom. To force students to take off pro-life shirts, the school must have evidence that the shirts actually disrupt discipline in the school. I have spoken with the students involved and administrators told them that a single student claimed he was uncomfortable with the pro-life T-shirts. That clearly does not meet the constitutional standard.”

My prayers go with these ten students. I salute them for being willing to step into the fires of controversy because they desired to play a part in protecting human life.

NOTE: Young people wishing to learn more about National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day can visit this website: http://www.nationalprolifetshirtday.com/.”

I found these articles and video on SOULFORCE. What’s Soulforce you ask?

“Soulforce is a national civil rights and social justice organization. Our vision is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) is an international fellowship of Christian churches with a special ministry to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.” Read more…

“(Houston, TX) At a press conference today, Jay Bakker, star of the documentary series One Punk Under God, issued an open invitation to families from Lakewood Church — the largest church in the U.S. — to share a picnic with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families in Houston’s Levy Park on Saturday, May 10, 2008.

Bakker’s invitation is part of a nationwide fellowship effort called The American Family Outing. The project, which aims to create dialogue between LGBT families and families at six American mega-churches, began reaching out to Rev. Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church with a letter in December 2007. The initial invitation was followed by a personal letter to Osteen from Jay Bakker in January 2008, as well as phone calls from Bakker and noted evangelical speaker Peggy Campolo. Project organizers sent two more letters to Lakewood staff in March and April 2008.

At present, Osteen and Lakewood Church have not yet agreed to sit down with the families for a meal and conversation. After today’s press conference, Bakker attempted to deliver his invitation in-person, but Lakewood staff told him that no one was available to accept the letter.

However, several prominent mega-churches, including The Potter’s House in Dallas, Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, and Hope Christian Church in Maryland, have agreed to meet lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families through The American Family Outing.

Bakker’s direct invitation to the families at Lakewood Church was delivered at the site of Saturday’s picnic, Levy Park, which is less than a mile from Lakewood.

What: American Family Outing Picnic in Levy Park, featuring Jay Bakker and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families from Houston and beyond.

When: Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 11am-2pm
Where: Levy Park, 3801 Eastside St., Houston, TX, 77098. (Just off of Richmond, between Buffalo Speedway and Kirby).

Who: All families or individuals who attend Lakewood Church are welcome.

Jay Bakker is the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, and the co-founder of Revolution Church. His non-traditional approach to ministry achieved national attention in the Sundance Channel documentary One Punk Under God, which documented his journey to become an LGBT-affirming Christian. Jay is dedicating the Mother’s Day visit to Lakewood to the memory of his mother.

The American Family Outing is a collaboration between Soulforce, COLAGE, National Black Justice Coalition, and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.

More reading from the Soulforce website:
American Family Outing Seeks to Dispel Divisive Tactics
Soulforce Events Urge Methodists to Open Hearts, Minds, and Doors
Black Clergy Allies to Show Support for LGBT Methodists
Soulforce Releases Letter from Bakker to Osteen
A Soulforce Open Letter to Members of the United Methodist Church
LGBT Families to Host Families from Lakewood Church
What the Bible Says - And Doesn’t Say - About Homosexuality
Take the Five Soulforce Vows or Promises

Soulforce Video: Dr. Lewis Smede lets us know what scripture REALLY says about homosexuality and explains that we’re interpreting it incorrectly.

“It’s ‘what God is calling me to do,’ says controversial clergyman

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor

Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson knows he is inviting death threats by entering into a civil union with his gay partner on the eve of his church’s biggest ecclesiastical conference. And he says it is worth it, because he is doing what God asks of him.

“When your life is at stake, you learn that there are things in life that are much worse than death,” Bishop Robinson told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Thursday in New York. “That’s the great reward of being a Christian. Not living your life — that’s worse than death. And if something were to happen to me, I would know that I am doing what I discern God is calling me to do.”

In 2003, Robinson became the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church when he was elected by the congregations of New Hampshire. Dubbed “the most controversial Christian in the world,” he faced death threats then and wore a bulletproof vest during his consecration. Now, he has announced that he will “marry” Mark Andrew, his partner of some 20 years, a move sure to outrage conservatives in his religion.” Read more…

Children of ‘The Family’, cult leader Moses David Berg.

I was reading an article from Religion News Blog on a polygamist group buying land in Utah. I decided to look more into this group and came across a blog, Over My Head, written by a woman who is ‘distantly’ related to the polygamist.

Below are the links to both articles.

Polygamist group buys up more than 900 acres in Utah

“PLEASANT, Utah (ABC 4 News) - A fundamentalist polygamist group has its eyes set on central Utah. In fact, members of the group have already bought the land and are starting to build homes.

The site, comprised of more than 900 acres, is located between Mount Pleasant and Spring City. The group is called the Apostolic United Brotherhood.

Residents in the area are concerned about the land purchase for a variety of reasons, including taxes, traffic, water rights, and other natural resource issues.

But many candidly told ABC 4 they were deeply concerned about the group’s ties to polygamy and the recent negative publicity over the raid on the FLDS ranch in Texas.

David Asay, the group’s project coordinator, told ABC 4 that Utahns have nothing to fear, and that polygamist members who will live on the land will blend in well, and that the group does not wish to “isolate” themselves. Asay also says they don’t even plan on building a wall around the property.

Asay did specify that the polygamist group was not affiliated in any way with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its jailed leader, Warren Jeffs. In fact, Asay says his group is more connected with the Rulon Allred polygamist clan.

The land wasn’t purchased in one big parcel. Chunks of land, side by side, were bought a little bit at a time. The last sale was closed in February.”

The “Jeffites”

“You may have seen in the news the story about the polygamist group that has been recently broken up. Over 400 children plus many mothers have been removed from their Texas compound and are being held at shelters while Texas authorities try to figure out what to do with them. You may be aware that they are connected to Warren Jeffs, the man convicted late last year of being an accomplice to rape (he arranged marriages for under-aged girls) and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is still awaiting trial in Arizona for similar charges.

What you may not know is that this 400 is just a mere fraction of the number of children that are really in this group, which at one point totalled over 10,000 members. Over the years many members have switched their allegiance from Jeffs, and some of them even switched communities into other polygamist sects. You also may not know that I am distantly related to some of these people. Frankly, I only really know one great-aunt and a few second cousins that had ties to that sect, but I think most of them branched off to a nearby sect not following Jeffs. Even with the distance, the family is close enough that I’m often hearing about the goings-on of these groups and see them at certain family gatherings (sadly, mainly at funerals). Read more…

Article and links taken from: Religion News Blog

“As his polygamist followers in Texas undergo one of the most intensive child abuse investigations in the nation’s history, sect prophet Warren Jeffs sits in a small jail cell in Arizona, emaciated and under a suicide watch, as he awaits trial on charges of criminal incest and sexual assault in a desert town that was once the home of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Jeffs, 52, is alone in his cell 23 hours each day, allowed out only to shower and use the telephone. He is given two 30-minute visitation periods a week. Those who come to see him are usually his wives from Texas who, one sect expert said, have a “vested interest in his retaining his leadership.”

But Jeffs’ rule over the estimated 10,000 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is believed to be eroding, observers and former sect members say.

“From a theological standpoint, Warren Jeffs would still be considered the prophet, even though he is behind bars,” said Shannon Price, director of the Salt Lake City-based Diversity Foundation, which helps victims of polygamy.

But Jeffs’ continued control relies on the information he gets from the outside world, said Price, who grew up in a monogamous family but has relatives who are polygamists, including three uncles who were “prophets” of the sect. Based on his visitors’ log at the Mohave County Jail, she said, Jeffs is getting his news from women who have little sway in the male-only hierarchy of the FLDS and its sprawling compound near Eldorado, in West Texas.”  Read more…

“TULSA, Okla. (AP) - As Oral Roberts University prepares to hand out diplomas to its Class of 2008, Anna Siebring, a junior, will be mailing out applications to transfer to another school. Siebring, a government major, is among many students having second thoughts about staying at Oral Roberts after six months of scandal at the evangelical Christian university.

She and others fear the furor will reduce the value of any degree they earn there. Some graduates worry that they will have to try twice as hard to market themselves to potential employers after Saturday’s commencement.

“The reputation of the school means a lot,” Siebring said. “I want to be proud of the school that I went to, but I could definitely not say that about the school right now.”

During the past school year, TV evangelist Richard Roberts, son of school founder Oral Roberts, resigned as president after being accused of misspending university funds to live in style. Also, it was disclosed that the school was more than $50 million in debt.

Among other things, Roberts and his wife were accused of spending school money on shopping sprees, home improvements and a stable of horses for their daughters. They are also alleged to have sent a daughter and her friends on a Bahamas vacation aboard a university jet.” Read more…