8 Church Scandals That May have Challenged Your Faith

Altars elevate religious leaders, making them more visible to their congregation. Consequently, they also make their flaws more visible. Preachers gain stature with their position, but their human flaws often surface under the strain of the calling, mirroring the theory of Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard. “People have an idea that the preacher is an actor on a stage and they are the critics, blaming or praising him,” he said. “What they don't know is that they are the actors on the stage; he (the preacher) is merely the prompter standing in the wings, reminding them of their lost lines.” Here are six men of the cloth who have reflected man’s fallible humanness through scandal. Photo: beginningandend.com Creflo Dollar Creflo Dollar, 50, founder of The World Changers Church International, an Atlanta mega-church boasting over 30,000 members, was arrested in June 2012 after allegations of domestic violence. His then-15-year-old daughter said Dollar choked her during an argument. Dollar has denied these claims publicly. “The truth is, she was not choked, she was not punched,” he declared to his congregation. Dollar was fined $1,000 and required to take an anger management course. Photo: The Grio Eddie Long In 2010, five teenage boys accused Bishop Eddie Long, 60, of Atlanta’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, of abusing his authority by coercing them into sexual acts using scripture as justification. The accusers, four of them former members of his congregation, said Long showered them with lavish gifts including cars, trips to New Zealand and South Africa. Long admitted relationships with the boys as a mentor and father figure, revealing in court documents that he told them to call him “daddy” or “grandaddy” out of endearment and respect. However, he denied sexual allegations, which have since scarred is public image and nearly cost him his marriage to wife Vanessa, who filed for divorce then withdrew her petition. There was no criminal investigation. The boys were 17 or 18 at the time and the legal age of consent is 16 in Georgia. Long settled the five cases out of court for undisclosed sums in May 2011. Photo: talkingpointsmemo.com Ted Haggard Evangelical pastor and former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted Haggard, 58, was accused in 2006 of sexually immoral conduct. The leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., with nearly 30 million global followers, fell from grace. Haggard, once named one of Time magazine’s most influential evangelicals in America, initially denied claims that he had been in a three-year sexual relationship with Mike Jones, a male escort and crystal-meth dealer. After evidence of phone conversations were made public, Haggard admitted to his secret affair with Jones and has since spoken about other indiscretions. "Many of the charges against me exaggerated, but it doesn't matter, I'm guilty enough of so many things," Haggard told CNN television host Larry King in 2009. "I think I'm still deeply wounded and scarred and somewhat confused." About other men, he added, "I have thoughts from time to time, but not compelling thoughts." Photo: vimeo.com Douglas Goodman Douglas Goodman, former shepherd of Britain’s Victory Christian Centre, which predominantly served London's Black community, was found guilty of sexually assaulting four female church members in 2004. Goodman was sentenced and jailed for three and a half years. The Victory Christian Centre closed, deflating under the weight of massive debts. Goodman’s wife Erica began Victory to Victory Church during his jail stint, and he joined her in leadership after his release. Photo: TheNewYorkTimes.com Jim Bakker Jim Bakker, 74, and his former wife Tammy Faye Bakker (1942-2007) were once considered royalty in the eyes of a prosperity-seeking Christian America. The famed Assemblies of God televangelists were removed from their pedestal when Jim became embroiled in both sex and accounting fraud scandals in the 1980s. In 1989, Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison and fined $500,000. Bakker’s sentence was reduced to eight years, after the courts held that the final statements of Robert Daniel Potter, the judge in the case, was evidence of his own religious beliefs and affected his ruling. Potter asserted, that Bakker’s actions resulted in, "Those of us who do have a religion being lampooned as saps from money-grubbing preachers or priests." Bakker was released after serving nearly five years. Photo: dailyrecord.co.uk Gilbert Deya Gilbert Deya, 61, capitalized on the Bible's immaculate conception story, stating that he had the power to give barren female followers "miracle babies." The founder of Gilbert Deya Ministries based in Peckham, South London, is thought to have conjured 20 "miracle babies," whose births coincided with reports of missing children from a Pumwani maternity hospital in his homeland Kenya. There are accusations that Deya stole at least five children between the ages of 22 months and 4 1/2 years old, between 1999 and 2004. Deya denied allegations of child trafficking and insists that the babies conceived of infertile congregants were prayed into existence. "The miracle babies which are happening in our ministry are beyond human imagination," Deya said. "It is not something I can say I can explain, because they are of God and things of God cannot be explained by a human being." Deya's wife, Mary Deya, was arrested and charged in 2004 for stealing children in Nairobi. Twenty babies with connections to Deya have been placed in foster care, after DNA tests proved they had no connection to their "mothers." Deya is a Kenyan fugitive still living in the U.K. Photo: moralcompassblog.com Terry Hornbuckle Charismatic Bishop Terry Hornbuckle, 52, was once a trusted member of his Arlington, Texas, community, but that trust was breached when he was found guilty on Aug. 22, 2006, of drugging and sexually assaulting three women, two of them members of his Agape Christian Fellowship congregation. Hornbuckle was handed down sentences of 15, 10 and 14 years and fined $30,000. The court ordered him to serve 15 years with the other two sentences concurrently. After serving nearly eight years in the Powledge Unit in Palestine, Texas, Hornbuckle became eligible for parole in 2013. The decision is still under review by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which assesses nearly 100,000 inmate cases annually. The ACF ministry, now under the leadership of Terry's former wife, Renee Hornbuckle, responded to the news, saying: "Agape Church and all associated organizations are not, in anyway, affiliated with Mr. Hornbuckle. Furthermore, the ministry has no comments regarding his pending parole or any other matter pertaining to him." Hornbuckle's family showed support for his release. "During the nearly eight years in prison Terry has paid a tremendous price for his sin and has suffered the permanent loss of his family, precious moments with his children, spending the last days with our beloved father who is now deceased, his home, assets, ministry and so much more," a sister, Dyann Hornbuckle-Watson, said in an email. She added: "As permitted to any man, woman and child, who recognizes their error and chooses a different path, Terry deserves the opportunity to have another chance to get it right. He has served time in prison with integrity and been a model inmate making productive use of his time." Photo: welt.de Tony Alamo In November 2009, U. S. District Judge Harry Barnes handed down the maximum sentence of 175 years to Arkansas religious leader Tony Alamo, 79, on 10 counts of sexual immorality with underage girls ages 12 to 14. After a two-year state and federal investigation, Alamo's home was raided and six young girls were seized, suspected of being forced to participate in child pornography. Alamo, whose stance is "consent is puberty," as it pertains to sex, denies the claims that his actions are anything less than justified. The leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries has been accused of committing a number of immoral and illegal acts since he began a street ministry 46 years ago in California. In 1988 he dodged child abuse charges; in 1991 he was acquitted on a charge of threatening to kidnap a federal judge; and in 1999 he served a four year stint in prison for evading $7.9 million in taxes. Now Alamo can no longer avoid punishment as he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

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