[UPDATE 10/5/2007, Noonish]

The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported the news of the ORU lawsuit.

Michael Bates linked to this post and quoted a bit from it (Thanks, Michael!), and he did a little digging via a 2004 ORU tax filing (Form 990) which the Tulsa World posted. He notes:

The list of ORU’s regents, found in their 2005 IRS Form 990 filing (starting on page 18 of the PDF; kudos to the World for posting it), is a who’s who of Word-Faith televangelists: Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Jerry Savelle, Benny Hinn, John Hagee, Marilyn Hickey, Jesse Duplantis.

I had no idea they were regents when I made my original post (below), but I am not surprised at all. Money is central to their “ministries” and it wouldn’t shock me at all to learn that each of their respective (don’t mistake that for respectable) organizations operate in much the same way as ORU seems to run. It seems that it is typical for only the big cheese (and his or her closest friends and associates) to benefit from all those seed faith offerings people send in.

[Original Post Below]

Via Batesline, I learned of the lawsuit against Richard Roberts and Oral Roberts University in Tulsa (see the court document here). The only reason I mention it here is to illustrate one of the reasons that I and many other, better, opponents to the prosperity gospel are so opposed to it.

In the first place, it’s patently unbiblical and contrary to the teachings of Christ. That’s all the reason we need to reject it. However, there are practical implications, and I would like to discuss a few of them.

When a large “ministry” like ORU (or whatever) is characterized not only by excesses on behalf of the top dog but also flagrant and contemptible disregard for the law, ethics, Christian responsibility, and any semblance of fair play, it makes it harder for all ministries–especially small ones.

In the aftermath of the Enron meltdown, Congress responded to the outcry for reform with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (aka Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002). Sarbox, as it is also known, regulates the accounting practices of public companies. What many people do not know is that in addition to its application to large publicly traded corporations Sarbox applies to non-profit organizations of all sizes, right down to the corner church. And I am not saying that application to the corner church is bad. What I am saying is that, by and large, the corner church has properly accounted for its finances without regulation. But, because the big boys made a mess of things, now everyone must pay the price of more regulation, more work, weirder regulations, and higher costs of compliance.

In much the same way that bad corporate citizens cost us all eventually, bad ministries cost all ministries eventually. No pastor I know would dare use God’s coffers as his own personal piggy bank. But now, if what has been alleged from information contained in one of ORU’s own internal documents (reproduced in part in the lawsuit against ORU and Roberts) is true, it appears that Oral Roberts Ministries and ORU have had an open-checkbook approach to the entire Roberts family (see pages 7-10 of the PDF). All that seed faith money has sprouted up in the Roberts’ family garden. And the misery of it all is that because this has happened (if the allegations are true) to the big boys, there will be a regulatory response, placing more burden and regulation on all non-profits, from national and statewide ministries to the local church.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. I have never seen a better run, more financially accountable and transparent organization. At our recent meeting, we learned that the BGCO has received an “unqualified good” rating from our external auditors again for 2006. If memory serves, the BGCO has had “unqualified good” ratings since the 1920s. Not only that, but all of our affiliates do, too. Many are aware of the scandals surrounding the Baptist foundations in other states. Not so in Oklahoma. Under the leadership of many wise directors, currently Robert Kellogg, the foundation is stronger than ever, and totally open and transparent. But, in all likelihood, the future will hold even greater regulation and compliance costs (money that could be spent on missions work) to prove we have been doing it right all along. Sad.

I only mention Baptists because I am one and have specific knowledge about our cooperative groups. I am confident that many other ministries are doing the right thing because it is the right thing. And that’s what is really unfortunate about it all. If we have come to a time when a ministry does the right thing because of mountains of regulation and enforcement, rather than just because it’s the right thing, we are in a sad state. We Christians, of all people, should know that there doesn’t have to be a law for everything.

I hope the allegations are not true (though I still take issue with many of the teachings of ORU and Richard Roberts), but I suspect they are because, as I mentioned earlier, the lawsuit claims to reproduce them from a confidential ORU internal document. It also claims to have presented a sanitized version so as to leave the university some credibility. If what I read was the sanitized version, I hate to think what was in the unedited document.

And while we’re discussing things, maybe we should deal with a couple other things. You may be thinking, But Tyson, you’re a pastor and you’re pretty politically involved. You would be correct. But, and the “but” is what really matters, I do it on my own time, with my own resources, in my own forum. I may preach about issues that are important to Christians, but I do not endorse political candidates in my role as pastor. One of the main reasons I blog is so that I have a non-church outlet for my interests. And, I strongly believe that government cannot save us, which gets into many of my political philosophies regarding government (mainly to get it out of people’s lives as much as possible). I guess what I am saying is that a man does not give up his right to free speech when he accepts a pulpit anymore than a student does when he or she crosses the threshold of a public school. I just have to know when and where I can practice my free speech. And to be honest, I have better things to talk about at church.

In regards to the ORU lawsuit, we can only hope that it will purify the university and the Robertses without creating a huge burden on all other non-profits as a result. Remember, Richard, it’s all God’s money. When a “ministry” becomes more about money than missions, you have a mess that embarrasses all Christians, because much of the population doesn’t distinguish between the prosperity gospelizers and those of us trying to preach the historical Christian faith. Sad.

***

Just as a footnote: Having worked in higher education, I can state that though woefully excessive in Roberts’ case, university administration (especially presidents) are afforded great discretion and great potential for corruption in all institutions, private or public. What is needed are strong, independent Regents that are more committed to educational excellence, public accountability, and financial transparency than to the man or woman at the helm. Regent literally means a “ruler” or “one who rules.” The more you deal with higher education, the less you see Regents as rulers and more as lobbyists and rubber stamps.

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