Citizendia

Robert Tilton
OccupationPastor, Author
EmployersWord of Faith World Outreach Center Church
TitlePastor
Religious beliefsNon-denominational Christianity
SpouseMaria Rodriguez Tilton (2002-present)

Robert Tilton (born June 7, 1946) is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and early 1990s through his paid television program Success-N-Life. A pastor is an official person within a Protestant group of people and related to the positions of Priest or Bishop within the Anglican, Roman Catholic An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created In Christianity, the term non-denominational refers to those churches that have not formally aligned themselves with an established denomination, or remain otherwise Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Televangelism is the use of Television to communicate the Christian faith A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U At its peak it aired in all 235 American TV markets. At the time the first investigations into Tilton's ministry occurred in 1991, his television ministry was airing daily in many of those 235 markets and ABC's Primetime Live described it as "the fastest growing television ministry in America". For the Irish News show see Prime Time. Primetime is a general-interest American news magazine show [1] Within two years after the investigations began, however, Tilton was completely off the airwaves. Tilton has since returned to the television airwaves via his new version of Success-N-Life airing on BET.

Contents

Biography and early years

According to Tilton's own autobiographical materials, Tilton had a conversion experience to Christianity in 1969[2] and began his ministry in 1974, taking his new family (including wife Martha "Marte" Phillips, whom he married in 1968) on the road to, in his own words, "preach this gospel of Jesus". [3] Tilton preached to small congregations and revivals throughout Texas and Oklahoma in the form of a Word-Faith ministry often preached by ministers like Kenneth Hagin, E.W. Kenyon, and Joel Osteen's father John, a Texas minister who was a contemporary of Tilton's and heavily influenced Tilton's own preaching style. Word of Faith (also known as Word-Faith or simply Faith) is a family of local Christian churches as well as a teaching movement kindred to many Kenneth Erwin Hagin ( August 20, 1917 - September 19, 2003) was an influential American Pentecostal preacher. Korv Essek William Kenyon E W Kenyon (1867&ndash1948 was an evangelist Pastor of the New Covenant Baptist Church and president of the Bethel Bible Joel Scott Hayley Osteen (born March 5 1963 is an American best-selling author and the senior Pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas John Hillery Osteen ( April 5, 1921 &ndash January 23, 1999) was the first pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston Texas from its [4] Tilton and his family settled in Dallas, Texas and built a small church in Farmers Branch, Texas called the "Word Of Faith Family Church" in 1976. Farmers Branch is a city in Dallas County, Texas ( USA) The city is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas/Fort [5] The church was growing steadily, but Tilton's many attempts to expand his televised ministry beyond local stations in the Dallas area were stalling until the aspiring minister went to Hawaii--his own self-described version of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness[6]--and spent time fishing, drinking, and watching an increasingly popular new form of television programming; the late night infomercial. Infomercials (or informercials are Television commercials that run for one minute or for as long as a typical Television program

Tilton was particularly influenced by the style of infomercials made by real estate promoter Dave Del Dotto, who produced hour-long infomercials showing Del Dotto's glamorous life in Hawaii--which Del Dotto constantly stressed anyone could achieve just by following the principles set up in Del Dotto's many "get rich quick" books--as well as "interviews" of students who were brought out to Del Dotto's Hawaiian villa for said interviews, specifically for their on-camera testimonials about the success in life they were now enjoying thanks to Del Dotto's teachings[7]. David "Dave" P Del Dotto is a former Real estate investor who sold a course he called the "Cash Flow System" through Infomercials on late night Upon his return from Hawaii in 1981, Tilton--with the help of a $1. 3M (US) loan from Dallas banker Herman Beebe[8]--put together his new show, an hour-long religious infomercial with the title Success-N-Life. [9]

Success-N-Life

In Success-N-Life, Tilton regularly taught that all of life's trials, especially poverty, were a result of sin. Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation [10] Tilton's ministry revolved around the practice of making "vows", financial commitments to Tilton's ministry. Tilton's preferred vow, stressed frequently on his broadcasts, was $1,000. Occasionally, Tilton would claim to have received a "word" for someone to give a vow of $5,000 or even $10,000. When a person made a vow to Tilton, Tilton preached that God would recognize the vow and reward the donor with vast material riches. [11] The show also ran "testimonials" of viewers who gave to Tilton's ministry and reportedly received miracles in return, a practice that would be used as the basis for a later lawsuit from donors charging Tilton's ministry with fraud[12]. A Dallas Morning News story published in 1992 observed that Tilton spent more than 84% of his show's airtime for fundraising and promotions, a total higher than the 22% for an average commercial television show;[13] other sources put the total fundraising time during episodes of Success-N-Life closer to 68%. The Dallas Morning News is the major daily Newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area with a circulation of around a half-million [14] By contrast, the televised ministry of Billy Graham spent an average of 5% of total airtime on fundraising and promotions. William Franklin Graham Jr KBE (born November 7 1918 better known as Billy Graham, is an evangelist and an Evangelical Christian [15]

As a result of Tilton's television success, the membership of the Word of Faith Family Church (renamed "Word of Faith Family Church and World Outreach Center") grew to become an 8,000 member megachurch. A megachurch is a church having around 2000 attendants for a typical weekly service [16]

Tilton is the author of several self-help books about financial success, including The Power to Create Wealth, God's Laws of Success, How to Pay Your Bills Supernaturally, and How to be Rich and Have Everything You Ever Wanted. Most of Tilton's books were published in the 1980s and distributed via promotion on Success-N-Life and through the many mailings Tilton's ministry sent his followers. The books were republished in the late 1990s and are now used as centerpieces of his current infomercial series. [17]

Scandal

Even before the ABC News investigation into his ministry, Tilton had controversy in his background. In a deposition video for a lawsuit that was taped August 18, 1992, Tilton admitted to having robbed a fruit stand as a teen and abusing marijuana, LSD, and various barbiturates as a young man prior to his conversion to Christianity in 1969. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system Depressants and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects from mild Sedation [18] Tilton also admitted several times on Success-N-Life that he used to "drink lots of alcohol and use lots of drugs" before his conversion.

Exploitation of vulnerable people

In 1991, Diane Sawyer and ABC News conducted an investigation of Tilton (as well as two other Dallas-area televangelists, W.V. Grant and Larry Lea). Lily Diane Sawyer (born December 19, 1945) is a Television Reporter for ABC and co-anchor of its morning news show This article is about the American news organization See also ABC News (disambiguation ABC News is a division of American Walter Vinson Grant Jr (better known as W V Grant) (born 1946 is an American Televangelist whose ministry has been based in and around the Dallas Texas Larry Lea (1950- is a former pastor and Televangelist. Early years As a teenager Lea was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and was hospitalized The investigation, spearheaded by Trinity Foundation president Ole Anthony and broadcast on ABC's Primetime Live on November 21, 1991, found that Tilton's ministry threw away prayer requests without reading them, keeping only any money or valuables sent to them by viewers, garnering his ministry an estimated US$80 million a year. The Trinity Foundation is a watchdog ministry founded by Ole Anthony in 1972 and based in Dallas, Texas ( USA) Ole Anthony (born October 3, 1938) a native of Minnesota, is the current editor of The Door, a magazine of Christian satire For the Irish News show see Prime Time. Primetime is a general-interest American news magazine show Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been

Poor people donated all their money

Ole Anthony, a Dallas-based minister whose Trinity Foundation church works with the homeless and the poor on the East side of Dallas, took an interest in Tilton's ministry after some of the people coming to the Trinity Foundation for help told him they had lost all of their money making donations to some of the higher profile televangelists, especially fellow Dallas area minister Robert Tilton. The Trinity Foundation is a watchdog ministry founded by Ole Anthony in 1972 and based in Dallas, Texas ( USA) Curious about the pervasiveness of the problem, the Trinity Foundation got on the mailing lists of several televangelists, including Tilton, and started keeping records of the many types of solicitations they received almost daily from various ministries.

A man turned away when he had no more to give

Former Coca-Cola executive Harry Guetzlaff came to the Trinity Foundation for help and told Anthony that Guetzlaff had been turned away from Tilton's church when he found himself on hard times following a divorce. He had been a longtime high-dollar donor, and gave up his last $5,000 as a "vow of faith" just weeks earlier. Guetzlaff's experience combined with the sheer magnitude of mailings from Tilton's ministry spurred Anthony, a former intelligence officer in the United States Air Force and licensed private investigator, to start a full investigation of Tilton's ministry. Guetzlaff joined Anthony in the task of gathering details on Tilton's operation, and would later do much of the legwork in finding and following the paper trail for the ABC news investigation. [19]

Undercover investigation

ABC producers, who had started working on their own investigation into a number of televangelists in early 1991, contacted the Trinity Foundation for information on Tilton. After ABC and Trinity Foundation compared notes, data, and details, the two groups decided to pool their efforts and began planning the undercover portion of the story. Anthony agreed to portray himself--a Dallas-based minister with a small church looking into the ways televangelist ministries were able to grow so quickly--and ABC producers would pose as Anthony's "media consultants". Together, the team got behind the scenes with hidden cameras and microphones for a meeting at Response Media, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based marketing firm handling Tilton's mass mailings, to discuss a proposal sent by Anthony to Response Media about fundraising for a religious-based TV talk show. The director of Response Media, Jim Moore, described for Anthony and the hidden cameras (concealed in the undercover Primetime Live producers' glasses and handbags) many of the techniques used by Tilton to raise funds for his ministry. Moore also said that Tilton was "doing very well, financially" and described the main strategy Tilton employed for such a high-return rate on his mailings--that is, send the recipient a "gimmick" that would compel the recipient to mail something back in return, and most recipients who would be inclined to respond would include some money along with it--but declined to disclose how much Response Media was being paid for its services nor how much money the mailings were generating for the Tilton ministry.

However, Moore did disclose, as part of his sales pitch to Anthony, that the response letters generated by the fundraising mailings Response Media sends out for its clients would never actually be delivered to the client; instead, they would be sent, unopened, to the client's financial institution or institutions of choice. "You never have to touch it," Moore added in response to a clarification question from Ole Anthony about dealing with the gimmick objects sent to the potential donors in the mailers. One of the ABC producers asked for clarification as to whether this was a standard practice--"So, the mail goes straight to the bank?"--and Moore asserted that it was: "The mail goes to the bank, and they put the money in your account. We just get the paper with the person's name and how much they gave. "[20]

The Apple of God's Eye

Trinity Foundation members, acting on this information, started digging through garbage dumpsters outside Tilton's many banks in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area as well as dumpsters outside the office of Tilton's lawyer, J. C. Joyce (who was also based in Tulsa). Over the next 30 days, Trinity's "garbologists", as Anthony dubbed them[21], found tens of thousands of discarded prayer requests, bank statements, computer printouts containing the coding for how Tilton's "personalized" letters were generated, and more, all of which were shown in detail on the Primetime Live documentary, now titled "The Apple of God's Eye". [22] In a follow-up broadcast on November 28, 1991, Primetime Live host Diane Sawyer said that the Trinity Foundation and Primetime Live assistants found prayer requests in bank dumpsters on 14 separate occasions in a 30-day period. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Lily Diane Sawyer (born December 19, 1945) is a Television Reporter for ABC and co-anchor of its morning news show [23]

Denial

Tilton vehemently denied the allegations and took to the airwaves on November 22, 1991 on a special episode of Success-N-Life entitled "Primetime Lies" to air his side of the story. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Tilton also asserted that the prayer requests found in garbage bags shown on the Primetime Live investigation were stolen from the ministry and placed in the dumpster for a sensational camera shot, and that he prayed over every prayer request received, to the point that he "laid on top of those prayer requests so much that 'the chemicals' actually got into my bloodstream, and. . . I had two small strokes in my brain. "[24]

Further revelations

After Trinity Foundation members spent weeks poring through the details of the documents they and ABC had uncovered, sorting and scrutinizing each prayer request, bank statement, and computer printouts dealing with the codes Tilton's banks and legal staff used when catagorizing the returned items, Ole Anthony called a press conference in December 1991 to present what he described as Tilton's "Wheel of Fortune", using a large display covered in actual prayer requests, copies of receipts for document disposition, and other damaging information that demonstrated what happened to money and prayer requests that the average Tilton TV follower sent Tilton. [25] When both Tilton and his lawyer, J. C. Joyce, reacted to the news by claiming that the items Anthony was displaying had somehow been stolen by "an insider", Anthony responded in a subsequent interview that "Joyce was our mole--a lot of this stuff came from the dumpster outside his office. "[26]

Primetime Live's original investigation and subsequent updates included interviews with several former Tilton employees and acquaintances. In the original investigation, one of Tilton's former prayer hotline operators claimed that the ministry cared little for desperate followers who called for prayer, saying that Tilton had a computer installed in July 1989 to make sure the phone operators were off the line by seven minutes. Also in the original report, a former friend of Tilton's from college (who remained anonymous and was shown in silhouette) claimed that both he and Tilton would go to tent revival meetings as a sport and would claim to be anointed and healed at the meetings, adding that the two had often discussed the notion that after graduation, they would set up their own roving revival ministry "and drive around the country and get rich. " In a July 1992 update to the investigation, Primetime Live interviewed Tilton's former maid, who claimed that prayer requests that were sent to Tilton's house by the ministry were routinely ignored until he told her to move them out of the house and into the garage; according to the maid, "they stacked up and stacked up" in Tilton's garage until he had them thrown away. In the same interview, Tilton's former secretary came forward and claimed that Tilton lifted excerpts from "get rich quick" books and used them in his sermons, and that she never saw him perform normal pastoral duties such as visiting with the sick and praying with members. [27]

Government involvement

Despite Tilton's repeated denials of misconduct, the state of Texas and the Federal government got involved in subsequent investigations, finding more causes for concern about Tilton's financial status with each new revelation. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. After nearly 10,000 pounds of prayer requests and letters to the Tilton ministry were found in a disposal bin at a Tulsa-area recycling firm in February 1992 along with itemized receipts of their delivery from Tilton's main mail handling service in Tulsa rather than from the church offices in Farmers Branch, Tilton admitted in a deposition given to the Texas Attorney General's office that he often prayed over computerized lists of prayer requests instead of the actual prayer requests themselves, and that prayer requests were in fact routinely thrown away after categorization.

As each revelation became increasingly more damaging, viewership and donations declined dramatically, prompting Tilton to stop paying for television airtime for Success-N-Life in 1993, and the last episode aired nationally on October 30, 1993. Events 637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar)

Failed libel action

In 1992, Tilton sued ABC for libel because of its investigation and report, but the case was dismissed in 1993. Federal Judge Thomas Brett, in his July 16, 1993 dismissal of the case, stated that information in the Trinity Foundation's logs on prayer requests reportedly found in dumpsters on September 11, 1991 "could not have been found then because the postmark date was after September 11, 1991", but also noted that Ole Anthony had recanted the erroneous entries in a subsequent affidavit. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. [28] Tilton appealed the decision in 1993; although the findings of the original court were upheld in 1995, Federal Judge Michael Burrage's opinion criticized ABC and the Primetime Live producers for the editing of the story and noted that ABC had been warned by their own Religion Editor Peggy Wehmeyer (who knew Ole Anthony from her work as a religion reporter at WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas) that "Mr. Anthony could not be trusted and was obsessed with his crusade against [Tilton]. "[29] Tilton once more appealed the decision, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996, but the court refused to hear the case. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. [30]

Tilton sued for fraud

Several donors to Tilton's television ministry sued Tilton himself in 1992 and 1993 charging various forms of fraud. One of the parties suing won $1. 5M (US) in 1994 when it was discovered that a family crisis center for which they had made donations (and recorded an endorsement testimonial) was never built nor was ever intended to be built. [31] The judgment was later reversed on appeal. [32]

The decline of Success-N-Life also led to the end of Tilton's 25-year marriage to wife Marte, who had served as the administrative head of the Word of Faith Family Church and World Outreach Center, in 1993. Dallas lawyer Gary Richardson, who represented many of the parties suing Tilton for fraud, attempted to intervene in the Tiltons' divorce, citing the potential for the divorce settlement to be used to hide financial assets that were currently part of the many fraud cases; Richardson's petition to have the divorce action put on hold until after the fraud cases were settled was denied. [33]

Transitional ministry

Tilton returned to television in 1994 with a new show called Pastor Tilton, a show with an emphasis on "demon-blasting" practices, usually involving Tilton shouting as loud as possible at demons supposedly possessing people suffering from pain and illness. Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure is the practice of evicting Demons or other evil His show was typical of other charismatic pastors such as Sam and Jane Whaley, whom Tilton credited for "casting out (his) own demons" in 1993. [34] Tilton was introduced to the Whaleys by his new wife, televangelist Leigh Valentine, a former beauty queen who claimed to be a former Miss Missouri, though her name does not show up on either the official Miss Missouri or Miss Missouri USA websites. [35] Tilton and Valentine were married in the Dominican Republic on February 10, 1994. The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) [36] Tilton installed Leigh as an associate pastor at Word of Faith Family Church and World Outreach Center and brought demon blasting to the church, a significant change from the Word-Faith prosperity doctrine that had defined the church since its founding.

Pastor Tilton was off the airwaves due to low ratings by the end of 1994. Tilton filed for divorce from Leigh in 1996 after a brief separation and reconciliation in November of 1995[37] and fired several Word of Faith Family Church employees brought in by Leigh. The Tiltons' divorce, marked by mutual acrimonious statements to each other through the media, a motion by Leigh Valentine's lawyer that the Word of Faith Family Church should be included in the list of Tilton's personal financial assets (the judge rejected the motion), and courtroom claims by Leigh that she was verbally assaulted and physically abused by an often-drunk Tilton (along with alleged bizarre behavior by Tilton, such as proclaiming himself Pope and claiming that "rats were eating his brain"),[38] was finalized in 1997. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and

Prior to their marriage, Leigh Valentine had her own demon-blasting evangelical ministry. Valentine claimed during her divorce action that Tilton confiscated her evangelism ministry materials (books, tapes) for sale through his own ministry, but she was not granted them as part of the divorce disposition and was unable to successfully restart her own ministry after divorcing Tilton. After their divorce, she moved to North Carolina and began her own cosmetics line. She declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June 2006. [39]

Reviving Success 'N' Life

After moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1996, Tilton returned to the airwaves in 1997 with a new version of Success-N-Life, buying airtime on independent television stations primarily serving inner city areas. Fort Lauderdale, known as the "Venice of America" due to its expansive and intricate Canal system is a city in Broward County, Florida, Gone were the demon-blasting sessions; back again were the Word-Faith messages and calls for "vows". In 1998, the program began airing on cable channel BET as part of the two hour late-night umbrella rotation block of religious programming entitled BET Inspiration. A wheel series is a term applied in the broadcast Television industry to a television program in which two or more regular series are rotated with the same time slot As of 2007, Success-N-Life is still a part of BET Inspiration, usually occupying the first hour of the programming block, as well as running on cable religious programming channel The Word Network. The Word Network is a Christian " urban religious network " in the United States. [40] Most of the episodes of Success-N-Life shown on BET Inspiration were taped in the late 1990s--with testimonials from 1980s-era episodes interspersed throughout the episodes[41]--but Tilton has also recorded infomercials for his books at least once a year since 2003, often appearing with his third wife, Maria Rodriguez, and their four French poodles. These infomercials also appear under the title of Success-N-Life on BET Inspiration. [42]

The Word of Faith Family Church and World Outreach Center, whose membership had declined to fewer than 300 by 1996, was finally formally dissolved by Tilton. Though Tilton was still listed as the church's senior pastor, he had not preached at the church since March 16, 1996, when he named Chattanooga, Tennessee minister Bob Wright as senior associate pastor. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) [43] The church building was purchased by the city of Farmers Branch in 1999 for use as a future civic center; however, the economy suffered a downturn and the plans were scrapped, and the building was finally demolished in 2003 to make room for a new youth hockey center. Farmers Branch is a city in Dallas County, Texas ( USA) The city is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas/Fort

In March 2005, Tilton started a new church in Hallandale, Florida, not far from his home in Miami Beach. Hallandale Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The church had already existed for some time under the pastorship of controversial former televangelist David Epley. Televangelism is the use of Television to communicate the Christian faith David Epley (born 1931 in Kentucky) is a Healing evangelist and former Televangelist who broadcast his weekly Christian TV show across the United States Tilton's new church, now called "Christ The Good Shepherd Worldwide Church", has approximately 200 members as of 2007. On Sunday May 13, 2007, the church moved into a new location at 16601 NW 8th Avenue in Miami, and was officially renamed "Word of Faith Church", much like his original church in Dallas. The new, larger location was purchased from another church. Tilton also started a church in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005, also originally named Christ The Good Shepherd Worldwide Church. It has also been officially renamed "Word of Faith Church. " The Las Vegas church's resident pastor is Natalie Vafai and holds its services at the Henderson Convention Center.

Tilton has also begun traveling the country again, in what he calls "The Renewed Robert Tilton Success-N-Life Miracle Rallies. " According to his assistant pastor in Florida, he plans to broadcast his church services and miracle rallies on TV soon and has approached the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) about this.

Continuing scandal

When Tilton returned to television in 1997, he established his ministry's headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his lawyer J. C. Joyce's offices were located, and set up a Post Office box as its mailing address. A woman employed by Mail Services, Inc. , a Tulsa-area clearinghouse handling mail sent to Tilton's ministry, said that when she worked for Mail Services, Inc. in 2001, prayer requests were still routinely thrown away after donations, pledges, etc. were removed. [44]

Steve Lumbley, who worked for Tilton's ministry in 1991 when the original Primetime Live investigation took place, told a reporter for the Dallas Observer in 2006 that reports of prayer request disposal that were the centerpiece of the 1991 Primetime Live exposé were highly exaggerated. In an article for the dallasobserver. com blog "Unfair Park", Lumbley asserted that "[t]he mailings all had some kind of gimmick. They weren't godly at all. But the primary allegation that came out of that--that prayer requests were thrown away--was categorically untrue, and I can guarantee you that was not a normal practice. " However, Lumbley, who now runs a Christian watchdog website called ApostasyWatch. com, does credit ABC and the Trinity Foundation for exposing Tilton's unethical fundraising tactics, noting that "God was using Ole and ABC to chastise Tilton and bring him down. "[45]

The Trinity Foundation still monitors Tilton's television ministry as part of Trinity's ongoing televangelist watchdog efforts. In a 2003 interview published in Tulsa World, Ole Anthony estimated that with none of the Word of Faith Family Church overhead and with television production costs at a fraction of the original Success-N-Life program, Tilton's current ministry was likely grossing more than $24M (U. S. ) per year tax-free. [46]

Satire

In 1985, two American men began distributing a video they compiled lampooning Tilton and his ostensible conversations with God. The video exploits Tilton's facial expressions and preaching style. Entitled Pastor Gas, the video featured a medley of footage from Success-N-Life, overdubbed with well-timed sound effects of flatulence. Flatulence is the production of a mixture of gases in the digestive tract of Mammals that are byproducts of the digestion process Unofficial VHS copies of the video circulated in the United States through the late 1980s, under such titles as Heaven Only Knows, The Joyful Noise, and The Farting Preacher. After the hosts of The Mark and Brian Show, a radio program in Los Angeles, mentioned the video on the air, the video's authors saw the market potential and began selling official copies of their creation. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Similar videos have since been made in more recent times using more recent footage of Tilton and are distributed throughout the internet, all under the Farting Preacher name. The video distribution (including digital bootlegs distributed online) expanded public awareness of Robert Tilton and his controversial "television ministry".

The stand-up comedy material of Ron White also includes mention of Robert Tilton. Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience with the absence of the theatrical " Fourth wall " Ron White (born December 18, 1956) is a Grammy Award -nominated American stand-up comedian from Fritch Texas. In the opening to White's act in the first Blue Collar Comedy Tour movie, Ron claims that "while sitting in a beanbag chair naked eating Cheetos," he finds Tilton on TV and believes Tilton is talking specifically to him: "Are you lonely?" "Yeah. The Blue Collar Comedy Tour began in January 2000 when Jeff Foxworthy started touring with three of his comedian friends Bill Engvall, Ron White, and " "Have you spent half your life in bars pursuing sins of the flesh?" "Man, this guy's good. . . " "Are you sitting in a beanbag chair naked eating Cheetos?" Ron gapes in horror before squeaking, ". . . Yes sir!" "Are you going to get up and send me a thousand dollars?" (#pause for effect#) "Close! Thought he was talking about me for a second. Apparently, I ain't the only cat on the block (who) digs Cheetos!"

In the early 2000s, the Trinity Foundation put together a number of news broadcasts, including the initial Primetime Live piece, from the years surrounding the investigations into Tilton's ministry on a DVD entitled The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed. The Trinity Foundation is a watchdog ministry founded by Ole Anthony in 1972 and based in Dallas, Texas ( USA) The DVD also includes segments from The Daily Show's "God Stuff" (hosted by Trinity Foundation member John Bloom, a. The Daily Show (known in its current incarnation as The Daily Show The Trinity Foundation is a watchdog ministry founded by Ole Anthony in 1972 and based in Dallas, Texas ( USA) John Bloom (born 1931 is an English Entrepreneur, known for his success and failure at the Rolls Razor company in selling Washing machines k. a. Joe Bob Briggs), excerpts from the Pastor Gas videos, and a number of mocking music videos, as well as moments from Success-N-Life showing Tilton's more outrageous claims of "visions from God". Joe Bob Briggs is a Pseudonym and persona of John Irving Bloom (born January 27, 1953) a syndicated American film

See also

Bibliography

Notes

  1. ^ "The Apple of God's Eye", produced by Robbie Gordon, Primetime Live, first broadcast November 21, 1991. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  2. ^ "Robert Tilton -- The Story", Robert-Tilton. com, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  3. ^ "The Apple of God's Eye", produced by Robbie Gordon, Primetime Live, first broadcast November 21, 1991. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  4. ^ "Prosperity and Healing: Is it Promised to the Believer?, Ken L. Sarles, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  5. ^ ibid.
  6. ^ "Robert Tilton's Heart of Darkness", Scott Baradell, first published in the Dallas Observer on February 6, 1992, p. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) 18; quoted in Christianity In Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff, Harvest House Publishers, 1993, p. 347.
  7. ^ ibid.
  8. ^ "The Apple of God's Eye", produced by Robbie Gordon, Primetime Live, first broadcast November 21, 1991. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  9. ^ "Robert Tilton's Heart of Darkness", Scott Baradell, first published in the Dallas Observer on February 6, 1992, p. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) 13; quoted in Christianity In Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff, Harvest House Publishers, 1993, p. 347.
  10. ^ "The Price of Success", Let Us Reason Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  11. ^ "Second Coming: A Jet-Settin', Scotch-Sippin' Robert Tilton Washes up in South Florida and He Still Wants Your Money", Sean Rowe, Dallas Observer, quoted by Cephas Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. The Dallas Observer is a free Alternative weekly Newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas ( USA) area with a Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  12. ^ CBS Nightly News with Connie Chung, CBS, first broadcast April 22, 1994; as compiled on The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)
  13. ^ "TV Preachers Seen as 'Beggars': Public Dislikes Evangelists' Onscreen Methods", Dallas Morning News, first published on November 21, 1992; quoted in Christianity In Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff, Harvest House Publishers, 1993, p. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) 348.
  14. ^ "Second Coming: A Jet-Settin', Scotch-Sippin' Robert Tilton Washes up in South Florida and He Still Wants Your Money", Sean Rowe, Dallas Observer, quoted by Cephas Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  15. ^ A Myth Shattered: New Report Shows Christian TV Ministries Not Focused on Money
  16. ^ "Prosperity and Healing: Is it Promised to the Believer?, Ken L. Sarles, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  17. ^ Success-N-Life home page, retrieved June 12, 2006. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  18. ^ KTUL Nightly News, KTUL-TV, Tulsa, Oklahoma, first broadcast November 16, 1992; as compiled on The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)
  19. ^ "The Antichrist of East Dallas", Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, first published on December 6, 2004; retrieved June 11, 2006. The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  20. ^ "The Apple of God's Eye", produced by Robbie Gordon, Primetime Live, first broadcast November 21, 1991. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  21. ^ "The Antichrist of East Dallas", Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, first published on December 6, 2004; retrieved June 11, 2006. The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  22. ^ "The Apple of God's Eye", produced by Robbie Gordon, Primetime Live, first broadcast November 21, 1991. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  23. ^ Followup segment to "The Apple of God's Eye", Primetime Live, first broadcast November 28, 1991. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar.
  24. ^ ibid.
  25. ^ Several Dallas-area TV stations covered this press conference; excerpts of the presentation can be found on The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified.
  26. ^ The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified.
  27. ^ Followup segment to "The Apple of God's Eye", Primetime Live, first broadcast July 9, 1992. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)
  28. ^ "The Robert Tilton Files", Glenna Whitley, Dallas Observer "Unfair Park" online blog, dated August 6, 2006; retrieved October 4, 2006. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  29. ^ ibid.
  30. ^ "Tilton Returns to Airwaves", Personal Freedom Outreach, retrieved June 17, 2006. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  31. ^ CBS Nightly News with Connie Chung, CBS, first broadcast April 22, 1994; as compiled on The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)
  32. ^ "Robert Tilton: From Downfall to Windfall", Ziva Branstetter, Tulsa World, first published May 4, 2003; quoted by The Trinity Foundation, retrieved June 17, 2006. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  33. ^ Several Dallas and Tulsa area TV stations reported on this case; many are compiled on The Prophet of Prosperity: Robert Tilton and the Gospel of Greed, DVD produced by The Trinity Foundation, publication date not specified.
  34. ^ "Tilton Returns to Airwaves", Personal Freedom Outreach, retrieved June 17, 2006. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  35. ^ Miss Missouri USA Past Winners
  36. ^ "Second Coming: A Jet-Settin', Scotch-Sippin' Robert Tilton Washes up in South Florida and He Still Wants Your Money", Sean Rowe, Dallas Observer, quoted by Cephas Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  37. ^ "State Briefs", The Houston Chronicle, first published February 6, 1995, retrieved September 25, 2006. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  38. ^ "Robert Tilton: From Downfall to Windfall", Ziva Branstetter, Tulsa World, first published May 4, 2003; quoted by The Trinity Foundation, retrieved June 17, 2006. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  39. ^ Bankruptcy Filing Reveals Ties To Word Of Faith Fellowship
  40. ^ The Word Network program listing page, retrieved January 8, 2007. Events 871 - Battle of Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
  41. ^ "Second Coming: A Jet-Settin', Scotch-Sippin' Robert Tilton Washes up in South Florida and He Still Wants Your Money", Sean Rowe, Dallas Observer, quoted by Cephas Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  42. ^ "Bob's Back, and More Entertaining than Ever", Steve Blow, Dallas Morning News, published September 25, 2004, retrieved June 18, 2006. Events 303 - On a voyage preaching the Gospel, Saint Fermin of Pamplona is beheaded in Amiens, France "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  43. ^ "Second Coming: A Jet-Settin', Scotch-Sippin' Robert Tilton Washes up in South Florida and He Still Wants Your Money", Sean Rowe, Dallas Observer, quoted by Cephas Ministries, retrieved June 11, 2006. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  44. ^ "Robert Tilton: From Downfall to Windfall", Ziva Branstetter, Tulsa World, first published May 4, 2003; quoted by The Trinity Foundation, retrieved June 17, 2006. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  45. ^ "The Robert Tilton Files", Glenna Whitley, Dallas Observer "Unfair Park" online blog, dated August 6, 2006; retrieved October 4, 2006. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
  46. ^ ibid.

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