Faith-Based Fraud

Learning from the Great Religious Scandals of Our Time

Warren Cole Smith

• Publisher: WildBlue Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781952225550
• eBook ISBN:
  9781952225543
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

A leader of Ministry Watch examines how cases of abuse and financial corruption have hurt the church—and how to bring back integrity. We live in a secular, skeptical, and cynical age.Many Americans have lost faith in institutions—including the church. Although the vast majority of Christian leaders serve faithfully, examples of financial fraud, greed, sexual and emotional abuse, and other systemic problems are almost everyday occurrences. And a watching world has a right to ask even those who are faithful ministers of the Gospel: "If you knew this was happening, why didn't you say something?" Whether or not honest and above-board Christian leadership like it, in the eyes of the world, our silence makes us complicit. That's why this vital book takes a clear-eyed look at scandals in the church—from Jim and Tammy Bakker's PTL Network to Mark Driscoll, Todd Bentley, David Jeremiah, and Bill Hybels. It is an answer to those who say that the silence of Christian leadership is approval. And although this book is sometimes tough on the church and its leaders, its purpose is not to tear down the evangelical church, but to restore it to its rightful place of influence in the culture and in the lives of people who desperately need its message of grace and truth. "Explains why shining sunlight on churches and ministries in America is important." —Paul Glader, Director of the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute, The King's College

Table of contents

• Epilogue: We Have Met The Enemy, And It Is Us
• Introduction: The Case for Accountability
• Chapter 1: What Is Faith-based Fraud?
• Chapter 2: The Amazing Story of Charles Ponzi
• Chapter 3: Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Redefine Faith-based Fraud
• Chapter 4: Todd Bentley Takes the Money and Runs
• Chapter 5: John Bennett and the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy
• Chapter 6: Prayers, Ponzis, and Profits: Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford
• Chapter 7: Let a Thousand Toxic Weeds Bloom
• Chapter 8: What Would Jesus Fly?
• Chapter 9: What Happened at Willow Creek?
• Chapter 10: Mark Driscoll Buys A Best-Seller
• Chapter 11: David Jeremiah and the Christian Industrial Complex
• Chapter 12: What “The Grassley Six” Tell Us About Ourselves
• Acknowledgments
• Glossary of Financial and Other Terms Used In This Book
• Notes
• Index