Yessssssssssssss, another sex scandal involving a mega church

Rev. Paulk: I guess he can say 'I'M YOUR DADDY, I'M YOUR DADDY!!!!!' to his nephew, eh ? ? ?

I remember seeing Rev. Earl Paulk on TV years and years ago . . . I wonder if he is going to be serving jail time for lying under oath about fathering a child with his brother's wife? Why can't men of the cloth, who are always on folks practicing adultry & fornication, can't follow the rules themselves ? ? ? I mean, they see what sex outside of & before marriage has done in the past to others (broken marriages, incest, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.). Why isn't this enough to keep their lust in check ? ? ? ? I wonder how bad this scandal has killed their attendance? I remember that they had a really big church (5,000 seats at least)

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Sex scandal hits Atlanta-area megachurch

By DORIE TURNER, Associated Press Writer


DECATUR, Ga. - The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch is at the center of a sex scandal of biblical dimensions: He slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her.

Members of Archbishop Earl Paulk's family stood at the pulpit of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church a few Sundays ago and revealed the secret exposed by a recent court-ordered paternity test.

In truth, this is not the first — or even the second — sex scandal to engulf Paulk and the independent, charismatic church. But this time, he could be in trouble with the law for lying under oath about the affair.

The living proof of that lie is 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years was known publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew.

"I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and the families hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and our sinfulness," said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a year and a half ago.

D.E. Paulk said he did not learn the secret of his parentage until the paternity test. "I was disappointed, and I was surprised," he said.

Earl Paulk, his brother, Don, and his sister-in-law, Clariece, did not return calls for comment.

A judge ordered the test at the request of the Cobb County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which are investigating Earl Paulk for possible perjury and false-swearing charges stemming from a lawsuit.

The archbishop, his brother and the church are being sued by former church employee Mona Brewer, who says Earl Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. Earl Paulk admitted to the affair in front of the church last January.

In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer. But the paternity test said otherwise.

So far no charges have been filed against Earl Paulk. District Attorney Pat Head and GBI spokesman John Bankhead would not comment.

The shocking results of the paternity test are speeding up a transformation already under way in the church after more than a decade of sex scandals and lawsuits involving the Paulks, D.E. Paulk said.

"It was a necessary evil to bring us back to a God-consciousness," said the younger Paulk, explaining that the church had become too personality-driven and prone to pastor worship.

The flashy megachurch began in 1960 with just a few dozen members in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. Now, it is in the suburbs on a 100-acre expanse, a collection of buildings surrounding a neo-Gothic cathedral.

For years the church was at the forefront of many social movements — admitting black members in the 1960s, ordaining women and opening its doors to gays.

At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress.

Today, though, membership is down to about 1,500, the church has 18 pastors, most of them volunteers, and the Bible college and TV ministry have shuttered — a downturn blamed largely on complaints about the alleged sexual transgressions of the elder Paulks.

In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration.

The church countered with a $24 million libel suit against seven former church members. The lawsuit was later dropped.

Jan Royston, who left the church in 1992, started an online support group for former members to discuss their crushed faith and hurt feelings.

"This is a cult. And you escape from a cult," she said. "We all escaped."

These days, Earl Paulk has a much-reduced role at the cathedral, giving 10-minute lectures as part of Sunday morning worship each week.

"My uncle is 100 percent guilty, but his accusers are guilty as well," D.E. Paulk said, declining to talk further about the lawsuits.

On the Net:

http://www.mycathedral.org

 

Wow.

I wonder how many souls will end up being lost because of this garbage.

 

None. Stupid people following a pastor is not what Jesus taught.

 

I agree. Should be following Jesus, if you were following the pastor, you were already lost. If you want to use this scandal as an excuse for not following Jesus...you never wanted to anyway.

 

Exactly. His behavior is not indicative of 'normal' people.

 

I can name three people off the top of my head right now who have rejected any pursuit of Christianity whatsoever because they keep reading and hearing about crap like this happening in churches. Yes, it's misguided. Yes, it's not what true Christianity is about. And yes, it affects people on the outside looking in who don't know (or want to know) any different.

 

Maybe it's just their excuse. Why can't they look at Billy Graham, or the hundreds of Christians that do so much good?

 

It's been my experience that those folks are viewed as exceptions, not the rule.

 

that's because the media doesn't feed us stories about those that do good and sensationalize those that have fallen. it's like we revere celebrities or athletes or clergy or politicians et al so we can get more delight when they fail

 

Next up on the scandal list: TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network)

Why are so many surprised by this scandal? I'm a believer, but I refuse to set foot in any church because of all of these pompous, self-appointed "gods" that pass themselves off as "christians". Rick Warren does it, Robert Schuller does it, and, it won't be long before TBN does i..wait, they already HAVE done it.

Using bullying techniques to STEAL money from anyone they can BRAINWASH into believing that Jesus needs money to do "the lord's work" is the same tactic that political pundits use to fund their pissant campaigns. "If you don't give money to jeesus, little timmy will die from a horrible illness"..."Just make a faith offering. It doesn't matter if you don't have $2,500 in your checking account, just write the check anyway, and BEELIEVE that you'll receive a 100-fold return". What bullcrap.

But, yet, we're ALL stupid enough to send charlatans like TBN, Benny Hinn, The 700 Club, or Rick Warren our life savings, thinking that these wolves in sheep's clothing will ACTUALLY use it for the Lord's work. Crap, utter crap to be THAT naive. We're ALL DUMB enough to believe that Saddleback Christian Center ("Christian CENTER", folks, NOT church) and it's "god", Rick Warren, aren't deceiving us. To be a "member" at Saddleback, one has to sign a "covenant" that explicitly states one will not raise any questions about the teachings that are spewed out of Rick Warren's backside on a bi-secondly basis. Rick Warren believes a "church" is to be run exactly like a business, and anyone who doesn't "perform" well is ousted from it's ranks. Just ask the number of ex-Saddleback "members", and you'll know what I mean.

Send jeesus your money, folks, because, Benny Hinn needs a PRIVATE jet plane to do the lord's work. Not even BUSINESS CLASS on a REGULAR jet is good enough for ol benny. Never MIND the FACT that Benny Hinn hires ACTORS to come up on stage during crusades and FAKE having terminal illness, deafness, madness, et al. Same with Jan and Paul Crouch and thier bedbuddies on TBN. Multiple houses are DEFINITELY praising the Lord for all of His goodness, aren't they? 5+ cars are God's way of showing the rest of us namby-pamby losers that TBN is TRULY doing the will of the Lord. I ALMOST hate to say it, but, Jan Crouch must be the lovechild of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. She certainly, if anything, must be using the same make-up artist as Tammy Faye.

Sarcastic? Obviously. Truth? Of course. I don't consider myself a Christian, I consider myself to be a believer in Jesus Christ. I don't need multiple houses to glorify the Lord..and, if I am called to go overseas to witness to other cultures about Jesus Christ, I'll go through the same lines waiting for TWA or SunCountry that you folks do. I make $8.20 per hour working at an international retailer (over 1mil employees worldwide). Even if I were more well-off than I am now, I'd have no need to think of myself as special enough to deserve a private jet, $1,000 dollar a night hotel rooms (I'd rather shack up in a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn, actually), driving around in one of my 7 cars (I've never been able to afford a car, but, yet, I've spoken to MANY folks since I accepted Jesus in 1991, and many of them live overseas.) Fancy that, I'm "poor", but, somehow, I can STILL manage to speak to others about Jesus without a private jet, garage full of cars, a TV network, or having and owning my own "christian Center", or, as far as I know, I don't have to resort to using GUILT or BULLYING tactics to tell others about Jesus and what He means to me.

The charlatans mentioned in my tirade? I feel sorry for them, if anything. Sorry, because they are obviously a sinner like I am, but more so because they are hard-hearted enough to believe that thier extravagant lifestyles will get them closer to God, and earn them genuine respect from other believers. They are like a whitewashed tombstone: clean and "pure" on the outside, but, inside they are consumed by festering pus-filled sores and ravenous maggots. I know what it's like to be like that, from personal experience. It feels absolutely awful and disgusting. They need Christ's forgiveness.

But, being forgiven doesn't mean being above God's punishment. Those of us who keep sinning, and not seeking Christ to wash away those sins, will go to hell upon Judgment Day. It's just that "black and white". The ones who are in GRAVE danger are the ones known as "teachers". Since they are "charged" with spreading the word of Jesus, they are, de facto conduits when they speak of Jesus. If they preach a false gospel, like the above-mentioned people, their punishment will be far more severe than those who don't teach. The end result for sinners, no matter teacher or student, is Hell. If you're a teacher of Jesus Christ, you OWE it to the people you instruct to "go by The Book", and NOT add your OWN interpretation of God's Word. If the above charlatans are GUILTY of anything, it's teaching a false gospel, deceiving everyone with a watered-down Christ, and using God to get all the money and pseudo-respect they can, because they are GREEDY and SELFISH, PERIOD.


Some of you must be saying "If you're a believer, you're not supposed to judge others". Wrong. I AM allowed, by God that is, to point out deception. The bible states I am NOT, however, allowed to judge a person's HEART, I am only allowed to judge the person's ACTIONS, if the actions are WRONG, that is. It's WRONG for these self-proclaimed "prophets" to make you feel ashamed for not sending your entire paycheck to them so they can do God's Work. Only GOD is capable of doing God's work. We're merely messengers. Folks, God Himself doesn't need our money. If these so-called "prophets" were REALLY doing God's bidding, they wouldn't be on television, radio, or in print having 'praise-a-thons' to raise money to do God's Work. No. If they are so EAGER to do God's work, you most likely would never KNOW who they were, because they would actually be DOING the will of Jesus Christ and spreading the Gospel like He expects His children to do every single day they are alive.

Also, believing in Jesus doesn't mean you keep quiet about things that are wrong. That's a lie. We're to follow in Jesus' footsteps as best we can, and that includes warning others about deception. "Does believing in Jesus mean you can't be angry or upset?" Of course not. Jesus was furious when he entered His Father's temple and saw all of the money exchanging hands for goods, and, in more recent terminology, went BALLISTIC, overturning thier wares, tables, and castigating them for turning God's House into a den of thieves. Yet, we turn a blind eye to churches today for having bookstores, HAIR SALONS, coffee shoppes in our OWN churches.

Now, for the most obvious statement I think I'll make on my post: even someone who DOESN'T believe in Jesus Christ/God/The Holy Spirit isn't fooled by these so-called "prophets". Being able to see through hypocrisy, lies, and pomposity isn't reserved only for those who believe in Jesus. I like to check things out, and, if there's something that's not right, and could harm someone else, I am obligated, by Jesus, to point it out, even if no one accepts it. You accepting what I've said would be your choice, not mine. But, it's not like all that I've written hasn't been written already by others who see the crap that is today's "church".

I know there are a handful of REAL churches, and genuine believers out there. It seems that they are hard to track down, but, I KNOW you're out there somewhere. I don't expect everyone to agree with all I've said. I know some won't, and I'm certain to get some responses to my post that are downright deplorable. But, I take that in stride. I'm just relating what I've seen from my personal experience since I accepted Jesus as my saviour and Lord. If everyone agreed with everything I've said, I'd think something was amiss.