Tag Archives: Cho

The Kong job continues (What is Victory Life Centre trying to hide?)

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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Yonggi Cho Kong Hee Phil Pringle

GOLDEN TRIANGLE TRICKERY

The golden triangle is a term we coined to expose the dubious connection of three prosperity teachers. The golden triangle consists of Ps David Yonggi Cho, Ps Phil Pringle and Ps Kong Hee. David Yonggi Cho (of Yoido Full Gospel Church) is both the mentor of Kong Hee (of City Harvest Church) and Phil Pringle (of Christian City Church). Phil Pringle is also a mentor to Kong Hee. Recently, David Yonggi Cho has been convicted of mishandling several million dollars of church funds. We have already seen Kong Hee’s church release an official statement claiming they will stand with the convicted David Yonggi Cho. It hasn’t surprised us that Phil Pringle has said nothing and kept his congregation in the dark over his mentor’s scandal.

Furthermore, Kong Hee is in court facing allegations of mishandling church funds of up to US$40 million.

Once again Kong Hee is still scheduled to speak at this year’s Presence Conference. We’ve already seen Kong Hee misrepresent the investigations and his court case back in Singapore at Phil Pringle’s C3 Presence Conferences in Sydney. At these Presence Conference events, it is not uncommon to have Phil Pringle hoodwink thousands of Christians to financially support Kong Hee’s legal defense fees. Not once has Pringle been honest in explaining Kong Hee’s circumstances to his church or the general public.

Beyond Words… Pringle Sinks To New Depths At Global Presence Conference 2013

Prophet Pringle Plundering People’s Pockets For Kong Hee’s Cause

Phil Pringle Misleading His Church Over Kong Hee’s Case

THE KONG MAN DOWN UNDER

As a result of Pringle and Kong’s scheming, it is common to meet C3 members or leaders who know nothing about Kong Hee’s affairs. You will quickly learn that C3 members have been deliberately kept ignorant and uniformed by Phil Pringle about Kong Hee’s investigations and trial. (Sadly, some carry the idea that Kong Hee is an innocent Christian man persecuted by a pagan government for preaching the gospel.) Pringle has helped Kong Hee travel to overseas churches and campaign his innocence to gain the necessary financial support for his lawyers. The behaviour of Kong Hee and Phil Pringle are causing people to rethink why Singaporean authorities are allowing these men to operate in this manner.

Last year, CHC members had shown concern regarding Kong Hee leaving Singapore to campaign his innocence and rally financial support in places like Victory Life Centre.  Last year, we had a churchwatcher comment about Kong Hee speaking at Victory Life Centre in Perth.

Kong Hee is at Victory Life Church’s annual Conference today in Perth, Australia and is doing a stunning performance. Most of those people and even the Leadership there seem to have NO IDEA what he, Sun and others have been up to…..am expecting that he will happily receive a “LOVE” offering to cover the expenses of his brilliant acting career….the fleecing continues in another country……unbelievable!

Source: Disgusted, The Information Just Keeps Coming And Coming…, C3 Church Watch, https://c3churchwatch.com/2013/09/23/the-information-just-keeps-coming-and-coming/#comment-8465, 2013/09/25 at 5:09 am. (Accessed 05/04/2014.)

This churchwatcher gave us the impression that Kong Hee was portraying himself as innocent to con people for financial support.

After seeing Kong Hee’s performance at Victory Life Church in Perth, WA today…..I’m pretty sure there is no repentance by this man….his lies continue in another church, another city, another nation! He is drumming up support….end of story! (see my comment in The Information Just Keeps Coming And Coming…)

 Source: Disgusted, At Least The Guilty King Saul Repented ‘Apostle’ Bernard…, https://c3churchwatch.com/2013/09/24/at-least-the-guilty-king-saul-repented-apostle-bernard/#comment-8468, 2013/09/25 at 5:33 am. (Accessed 05/04/2014.)

Unless Kong Hee provided more information outside these sessions, the commentor may have been overreacting. However, when we received the sessions of Kong Hee, it is clear that the footage at Victory Life Centre edited out information Kong Hee said about his case. We need to ask the question: What is Kong Hee and VLC trying to hide?

It is of our opinion that Kong Hee was speaking dishonestly at this conference. In saying this, Kong Hee also bought up the Yonggi Cho scandal to the people in Perth. We would like to know if Kong Hee has informed his CHC congregation at any point in time about the Yonggi Cho scandal prior Cho’s charges.

We invite you to offer your thoughts on the below videos of Kong Hee.

VIDEO 1

[yotube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GM3-8x8ze0]

“You know I go through all these trials. When I read about what the newspapers say of whom I’m supposed to be- and when I read it- let me tell you, the first time I read the newspaper in the midst of the trial I said, “Man! If that guy is me, I deserve to go to jail for life!”

Because the way they wrote is so sinister. It’s so negative! And it’s very easy to feel depressed. It’s very easy to feel defeated.”

VIDEO 2

We focus on the love of God our heavenly Father. And you know the last time I came I talked about the love of Abba. Every focus on the communion, the help, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We thank God for our many lawyers and many advisers. But when all is said and done, we know the victory’s gonna come from the Lord and no one else.

So we focus. We turn our eyes on Jesus every single day. And I know that you’re here today- and we live in a broken down world, where bad things do happen to good people. And I want to leave a final story to encourage you. Because if I can do it in Singapore, you can do so much more. In a country that where you have so much blessings.

You know, one time a group of tourists went to the Louvre Museum in Paris. And I don’t know – have you been there? But the Louvre Museum is viewed upon as the greatest art museum in the whole world. Well, in this group of tourists, there was an international chess champion. So they’re walking, walking, walking and they came across a painting. A very interesting painting. And this painting, if you look, is called ‘Check Mate’. It’s called ‘Check Mate’. It’s a picture of a man playing chess against the devil. And he is- he was so stressed out. His hands- his head was between his hands because it seems like all steps are gone. I mean he’s check mate.

And the devil was looking smug and laughing. And basically he’s dead. The group look at this painting and they move on. But the chess champion stay back. He was staring at it. He was staring. Staring at it. Staring at it. Staring at it. Staring at it.

The group leader after a while came back to him and say, “Sir why- why you standing here? You know- I mean we are all leaving. You know- why you keep staring at this picture?”

The chess champion say, “You know what? Something is wrong. Something is wrong with this picture. Something is wrong with this painting. This painting got to change the name. It shouldn’t be called ‘Check Mate’ because I’m an international chess champion. I have won many competition and I can see the king still has one more move! The KING still has one more move!”

Let me tell you, the same is true for you and me. Many of us have a wrong vision. Many of us gotta change the name of our vision. So our heads our down. It seems as the devil is laughing at us and there’s no way out. It seems like we’re finished and we are dead. But I am here to tell you that just like I am doing it in Singapore, you can do it in Perth Australia, that our king has one more move. We’re gonna come out victorious!

Come on! Give the Lord a big hand! Jesus Christ our king has one more move. Everybody say, “My king has one more move”. Say, “I’m gonna win”. Turn to your neighbour and say, “Your king has one more move and you’re going to win”. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

VIDEO 3

“Even in the midst of our severe trial, for Sun and I our passion, our vision is [edited out by VLC] – church. Every waking moment, I’m consumed for the well-being of my people. Even though I like to tell them, “You know what? I’m going through a tough time right now. Give me some space and God will take care of you”, I can’t help it! Every single day! Even when I’m sitting on the dock for hours and hours, all I could think about was my church. “How’s the members? Are they alright? How are they taking this?”

We really, really love the church that God has given to us. The welfare of my members is my passion. They are what makes my life exciting. And because of this revelation that God has given to me even as a kid, that Matthew sixteen verse eighteen that God will build His church. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will never prevail against it”. That I have this revelation, that my church in Singapore would be the most powerful weapon against the kingdom of darkness in that region. That is my revelation. This is the one thing I know. I may know not a lot of things, I mean I- I wish I could be a better speaker. I wish I could be more stylish and suave in my delivery. I wish I can be better on television. I wish I could do so many things. But one thing I know, God has called me to build a church and I want to make it the most glorious church I can and in my generation. What is that one thing you know? What is that one revelation God has given to you?”

VIDEO 4

“You see we mustn’t get distracted by the noises and the chatters that are out there especially as we come to the twenty first century. And there are so many noises and chatter. You know Psalms 119 verse 69 says that the Godless spread lies about me but I focus on my attention on what you’re saying. Hallelujah! You gotta focus on what God is saying. 2 Peter 1:19: “We couldn’t be more sure about what we saw and heard. God’s glory, God’s voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us and you would do well to keep focussing on it.

Think about it. John the Baptist was a very great man. Jesus said there was none greater than him. But yet even in his greatness, he got distracted by scandalous news. See, that tells me one thing. To maintain focus is never easy. It requires mental strength, emotional strength, spiritual strength, to zero in on the promises of God.

One of the greatest lessons I ever learnt was one day and my wife and I we were in Korea attending a great conference. And then- you know we- we- we got invited into the office of Dr Cho and there were a lot of preachers that day. But somehow Dr Cho just called Sun and I – just walked in together with him.

So we are sitting in this room. At that point in time, Dr Cho was going through uh- uh- s- uh- situation. A crisis in his life. And there were lots of scandalous news that was out there in the market place. In the newspaper. And I saw his elders around him. And one of his elders was a top attorney. A top lawyer in the country who has advised  Dr Cho for forty years. So this attorney was telling him and say, “You know what Dr Cho? You gotta speak up. You know what they’re saying in a newspaper? You gotta stand and fight. You gotta do this! You gotta do that!” And kept on- kept on an- and here I was, you know, me and my wife, sitting there like a fly on the wall, watching his lawyer telling him, “Dr Cho do this! Dr Cho do that!”

For twenty minutes! He was going on and on and on. And finally Dr Cho broke his silence and said to him and said, “Laywer, listen. It took me all morning to keep my thought and my frame of mind focused on God. And in one moment you want me to break this concentration and this focus on the Lord. Will you just shut up right now and don’t spoil the peace that I have?”

I tell you, I learnt something that day. I learnt that to stay focused is not so easy. It requires a lot of mental, emotional, spiritual. strength to keep your mind staying on the promises of God.”

J. Lee Grady Speaks Out About The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations, C3 Asheville Scandal

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Well City Harvest Church has made it clear they are standing with the convicted David Yonggi Cho of Yoidi Full Gospel Church. While Reformed, Charismatic or Pentecostal leaders continue to voice their concerns over Yonggi Cho, what will Phil Pringle do? His silence is deafening.

C3 does not  need to repeat the mistake they made with the notorious Nick Dimitris of C3 Church Asheville. Will C3 stand united behind another convicted felon for the sake of ‘unity’?

In fact, this article by Grady sounds as though it could have been written to Phil Pringle directly. (We wish to advise caution when reading this piece. We do not agree with Grady’s view. A false teacher like David Yonggi Cho is called by scripture an “impostor going from bad to worse”. He is not a Christian brother and should be excommunicated for his pagan gospel.)

Lee Grady weighed in to the issue with this piece:

6 Ways to Prevent an Embarrassing Ministry Scandal

The recent sentencing of Dr. Yonggi Cho of South Korea is a reminder that we need a fresh commitment to integrity.

I was devastated to learn last week that South Korean megachurch pastor David Yonggi Cho was found guilty of embezzling $12 million in church funds. I was aware that the famous hero of faith was struggling with problems at his massive congregation, Yoido Full Gospel Church, which is in Seoul. Cho’s 56-year effort to build what is now the world’s largest church made him one of the most respected spiritual fathers in the Pentecostal movement.

Some American leaders knew that Cho’s problems were linked to his son Cho Hee-jun, who was also convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for his role in an elaborate stock scheme that involved millions of dollars of church money. Hee-jun was immediately jailed. Thankfully, the elder Cho will not have to serve his prison sentence (it was suspended), but he will have to pay a $4.7 million fine.

I still respect Dr. Cho. A former Buddhist, he had a dramatic conversion to Jesus and was used by the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel to a nation that for centuries was closed to Christianity. Cho remains a legend. But the events of last week serve to remind us that even the greatest spiritual giants have feet of clay, and even the biggest ministries can fall into scandal if principles of integrity are not practiced.

This seems the best time to offer the simple reminders below. Today a new generation of megachurch pastors and ministry leaders has emerged, and this generation may not be aware that a few wrong moves could put them in the middle of the next big ministry scandal. If you are a leader, please post these rules in your board room, in your CEO’s office and in your ministry’s employee manual. If you are not in leadership, please pray that these rules are followed at your church, no matter how big it is:

1. Never build a cult of personality. The top reason ministries fail is that the organization starts revolving around a person instead of Christ. I don’t care how gifted or anointed the leader is—if he (or she) allows others to put him on a pedestal or if he climbs there himself, a fall is coming. Paul told the Corinthians, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11, NASB). Paul didn’t build his ministry on himself. In addition, he shared the spotlight with his successor, Timothy, and his other team members. If a leader can’t share power, he is headed toward disaster.

2. Develop a culture of openness. Healthy ministries encourage staff members and church members to give input. I’ve found that in ministries that experienced scandal, employees constantly felt intimidated, controlled or even threatened. Did you know that the word occult comes from a Latin word that means “secret” or “covered up”? Ministries that engage in cover-up or secrecy are not managing their work in a Christian manner.

3. Insist on financial transparency. Churches and ministries are funded by donors, and donors have a God-given right to know that their funds are being used properly. Ministry leaders also have a God-given stewardship, and they must acknowledge that the funds given to them are not for personal gain. All financial transactions of a ministry should be scrutinized by designated leaders (including an outside accountant) to prevent corruption.

4. Don’t build a family dynasty. There is nothing in the Bible that says a Christian leader is supposed to turn his ministry over to his family. And nepotism is often the cause of financial scandal. If a leader stacks his board or church staff with family members, they will be tempted to make financial decisions that benefit themselves. And in many cases, parents who employ their children find it difficult to bring correction when there are serious offenses.

5. Beware of creating a greed monster. In today’s megachurches, huge amounts of money begin to roll in on Sundays—and if leaders are not careful, this kind of success can eventually destroy them. We must remember that God entrusts us with these funds in order to engage in the work of ministry, not to provide leaders with mansions, luxury vehicles, bodyguards, private jets, shopping allowances and second or third homes. When you feed greed, it will always come back to bite you. I personally believe that pastors and ministry leaders should voluntarily put a cap on their salaries instead of insisting on being treated like corporate bigshots.

6. Never tolerate a spirit of entitlement. Financial blessing can affect people in dramatically different ways. One person can humbly receive it, thank God for it and live in constant gratefulness and humility. The next person can accept the blessing and then begin to think they deserve royal treatment. This spirit of entitlement can invade a church or ministry subtly at first, until leaders begin to make demands. I once knew a preacher who asked to be driven from her hotel to the conference in a limousine—yet the distance was less than one block! This insane behavior should be confronted, not coddled.

Paul told his spiritual son Timothy that church leaders must be “free from the love of money” (1 Tim. 3:3) in order to assume that responsibility. We would do well to revisit that mandate today. Instead of tarnishing ourselves with another scandal, let’s show the world that we can handle money properly.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of the Mordecai Project(themordecaiproject.org). You can follow him on Twitter at @leegrady. He is the author of 10 Lies Men Believe and other books.

Source: By J. Lee Grady, 6 Ways to Prevent an Embarrassing Ministry Scandal, Charisma Magazine, http://www.charismamag.com/blogs/fire-in-my-bones/19870-6-ways-to-prevent-an-embarrassing-ministry-scandal, Published 9:46AM EST /26/02/2014. (Accessed 10/30/2014.)

John Piper Publicly Correcting Phil Pringle’s Mentor David Yonggi Cho

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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Hopefully this will be our second or third last article on David Yonggi Cho.

Once again, another popular church figure is speaking out against David Yonggi Cho and correcting him publicly.

However, the damaging assumption made by John Piper in this article is that Yonggi Cho is a Christian pastor. While we do not agree with everything Piper teaches and endorses, his overall warning should be heeded. Jesus and his apostles make it clear in their instructions that false teachers are not pastors: they are impostors.

The Christian Post Reports,

John Piper Responds to Pastor David Yonggi Cho’s Conviction for Embezzling $12M by Making Plea to US Pastors

When asked about the conviction of David Yonggi Cho, founder of world’s largest Pentecostal congregation in South Korea, for embezzling $12 million from his church, popular pastor John Piper took the opportunity to warn pastors in the U.S. who might “love money,” in a recent message.

“With every public dishonoring of Christ, every public dishonoring of His Word and His Gospel, and His Church, it makes me angry and it makes me sorrowful,” said Piper in a recent episode of Ask Pastor John.

Yonggi Cho who pastors Yoido Full Gospel Church and oversees a network of churches numbering 800,000, was found guilty by a South Korean court for committing breach of trust and corruption amounting to $12 million, according to Yonhap News Agency. He received a suspended sentence of three years in prison with a five year probation and was ordered to pay a penalty of $4.7 million by Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 20.

One of Cho’s sons, Hee-jun, who serves as secretary general of Yeongsan Christian Cultural Center and was a former chairman of Next Media, was sentenced to three years in prison.

“My response to this is really not to pile on any additional condemnation … but rather to try to respond for the rest of us in a way that tries to prevent these kinds of things,” said Piper.

“I want pastors to keep watch on themselves. I have five pleas to pastors. My hope is that pastors will listen this and take this 68-year-old pastor’s heart-aching that we not bring this kind of reproach on the name of Christ,” he continued. He then listed five precautions pastors should take to avoid the sinful seduction of money.

1. Kill every desire to be rich and get rich

Don’t want this. If you see the desire in your heart take aim at it with the words of Christ and the words of Paul and put it to death with a swift blow with the sword of the spirit. Jesus said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom. In other words don’t want this.

2. Pastors, if you see your income starting to grow, set a governor on it

Keep away from accumulating more and more and communicating to your people that you lay up treasures on earth. One of the best ways to do this I think, is to grow the percentage of your giving. I’m not impressed with a pastor who gives 30 percent of a million dollar royalty check and keeps 70 percent of it to buy luxuries with. I’ve heard pastors boast that they give 30, 40 percent. I’m not even impressed with giving 90 percent of a $10 million royalty check and keeping a million dollars to play with. While you look like every other millionaire and think that you have done a virtuous thing. Money is insidiously deceptive. We’ve seen it over and over again and I’m pleading with pastors, be content with what the church pays you and give the rest away with joy and strategic wisdom.

3. Be totally transparent with your fellow elders about your sources of income

These elders should not be the wealthy powerful peers from outside the church. That is an unbiblical way to lead your flock. It has no biblical foundation and it communicates distrust for your local leaders and a kind of pride that you are above their local accountability. Let all the books of your income be open to any member of your church who asks the elders. Secrecy around money is deadly. It’s a sign that something is not right so work to give your ministry the flavor, ‘we’re not like peddlers of God’s word.’

4. Live simply to show that your treasure is in heaven and not on earth

Please don’t write this off as pauper theology. There goes Piper again with his pauper theology. That is absolutely ridiculous. The kind of distortion that makes of what I’m saying is a sign of fear that what I’m saying just might be true.

Get a car that works; that gets you where you need to go. Get a car that doesn’t break down on you every few months. I’m talking about a modest entertainment budget that doesn’t eat out every night. I’m talking about a refreshing vacation, not an exorbitant one. I’m talking about clothes that are unremarkable and undistracting, both for not being shabby and not being brand driven. I’m talking about a home that accomplishes your family and ministry purposes leaning towards ordinary folks in your congregation, not the wealthiest.

5. Put in place a leadership structure of a plurality of elders

A council of elders on which you the pastor have one vote. You are a chief among equals…not by having veto power over everyone else.

“I’m so jealous of these things because I am jealous for the name of Christ. His name is being blasphemed Paul said … the name of God is being blasphemed because of you. ‘You abhor idols and you rob temples.’ That is hypocrisy to the core … that is happening today because of pastors who love money,” Piper ended.

Source: By Leonardo Blair, John Piper Responds to Pastor David Yonggi Cho’s Conviction for Embezzling $12M by Making Plea to US Pastors, Christian Post, http://www.christianpost.com/news/john-piper-responds-to-pastor-david-yonggi-chos-conviction-for-embezzling-12m-by-making-plea-to-us-pastors-115648/, Published 05/03/2014, 2:04 pm. (Accessed 07/03/2014.)

Convicted Yonggi Cho States “Dr” Pringle Is “An Honoured Member of The Board of Directors for ‘Church Growth International’”

09 Sunday Mar 2014

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What was, is now no longer but resurfaces when convenient?
Phil Pringle’s false doctorate.

C3 College graduates have informed us that many years ago they were told by college staff that Phil Pringle wanted to be addressed as “Dr” Phil Pringle around the C3 church campuses. This was a personal request from Pringle to the staff without much explanation. Some college lecturers explained this was to bolster the credibility of their “bible” colleges (if you can call them that). It is of our opinion that “Dr” Phil Pringle decided to bolster his international speaker credibility with the misleading title.

No sooner was the title “Dr” bestowed upon Pringle that it appeared to drop soon after. The reason being? Articles surfaced online exposing that Pringle obtained his unaccredited doctorate from a diploma mill called ‘New Covenant International University’ in Florida. (Read more here.)

However to this day, it is conveniently placed on Pringle by his closest friends. In fact, we are appalled to see Pringle deliberately misinform his personal mentor – David Yonggi Cho – about his credentials. C3 leadership have made us aware that David Yonggi Cho has personally mentored and nurtured Phil Pringle through various stages of depression. If this is true, this is no way to treat his caring mentor and close friend.

In spite of the fact that Cho and Pringle are false teachers, is this how you would treat your close friend and mentor? Why has Phil Pringle misinformed his close friend? Why is he quoting his misinformed friend to bolster his false credentials? Would you mislead your own friend to bolster your ‘credibility’ as a Christian minister?

Phil Pringle

Pastor Phil Pringle

Phil Pringle, together with his wife Chris, is the founder and Senior Pastor of C3 Church Sydney, Australia. He is also the founder and President of C3 Global – a church planting movement of over 300 churches worldwide – and the visionary behind C3’s Presence Conference, held in Sydney every April.

Phil’s great love is the local church. He believes the church functioning in the power of the Holy Spirit and feeding on the Word of God will thrive – in turn impacting the world around her with hope.

To this end, he is motivated to reach the lost and make disciples. His passion is to equip and empower people through teaching biblical truths and encouraging them to live their best life through Jesus Christ.

Phil’s preaching has made him a sought after speaker in both Christian and secular contexts, particularly in the areas of faith, leadership, ministry of the Holy Spirit, church building and kingdom principles of finance and giving.

His communication style, coupled with relevant application of the Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit has inspired audiences right around the globe, from Seoul to Amsterdam and beyond.  He has been a keynote speaker at events including the CHC Asia Conference (2010), AOG Unstoppable Conference (UK, 2013) and the Church Growth International (CGI) Prayer Summit (annually).

“Dr Phil Pringle is an honoured member of The Board of Directors for ‘Church Growth International’, and I have had the pleasure of knowing his great faith and trust in the Lord as he and his lovely wife are moving onward and upward with The Lord Jesus Christ” Dr Yonggi Cho, Chairman ‘Church Growth International’

Along with being an accomplished and respected preacher, teacher and minister Phil Pringle is also the author of 14 books, a television host and a successful artist.

He has been married to Chris for over 40 years and they have three children: Rebekah, Daniel and Joseph. They have 2 grandsons, a granddaughter due this year, and a friendly West Highland Terrier named Piper.

After more than four decades in ministry, Phil will be the first to tell you: “We’re only just getting started”.

For Guest Speaker invitations, please email sue.moylan@myc3church.net

For a complete list of Pastor Phil Pringle’s upcoming speaking engagements – click here

Source: Phil Pringle, My C3 Church, http://www2.myc3church.net/phil-pringle. (Accessed 05/03/2014.)

ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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We are republishing stories from news sources around the world about David Yonggi Cho or Kong Hee for CHC and C3 members.

The fact is, Christianity and the world are stunned with the behaviour of these men. At least they understand this is not the normal behaviour of Christian ministers. Sadly, false teachers like Kong Hee and Phil Pringle will dismiss or demonise those outside their movements as ‘critics’ or backsliders. They often attack the media for ‘misreprenting’ them.

For some reason members of CHC and C3 will hold to the belief that their leaders are in the right and are being persecuted or misrepresented for Christ’s sake. To them, everyone outside their movement is in the wrong if they question their leaders behaviour.

If you are a CHC or a  C3 member, please start noticing how much concern the universal church has for you and the ministries you are involved in. Start looking at the Christian and secular news sources that have reported the issues around Kong Hee and David Yonggi Cho.

Do you honestly think Phil Pringle, Kong Hee and David Yonggi Cho have bought honour and glory to the name of Jesus Christ?

To our regular C3 leaders and members who read these articles, please keep printing these news articles and distributing them at your C3 Connect groups. We will continue looking for more articles for you to print and distribute to other C3 members and leaders.

ChristianToday (not ChristianityToday) reports,

Pastor David Yonggi Cho convicted of embezzling $12m

The pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in the world has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $12 million in church funds.

David Yonggi Cho, founder of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, had instructed church officials back in 2002 to buy stocks owned by his eldest son, Cho Hee-jun, at four times the market value.

In 2011, church elders accused him of embezzling $20 million and again last November, some 30 church elders took their complaints about Cho’s corruption to the press, accusing him and his family of stealing millions in church money over the last two decades.

At the press conference, the elders revealed the findings of an internal investigation into Cho’s financial dealings, including millions of dollars in church money that was borrowed by Cho and never returned.

They also reported a severence payment of around $18 million Cho received when he stepped down as head pastor in 2008 – a payment they say was made without the prior consent of the church and its decision-making bodies, The Hanyoreah news site reports.

At the time, former church elder Ha Song-ok said he had urged Cho many times to abandon his unethical practices.

Cho was sentenced on Thursday and must pay back $4.6 million to the church.  Yonhap News Agency reports that he was also convicted of evading taxes to the sum of $3.2 million.

He reportedly told his congregation that through his conviction he had learned that “an individual shouldn’t possess anything”.

“Besides health, status, fame, authority, money… these are all matters that are outside the body and unworthy of any pursuit,” he said.

Yoido Full Gospel Church is affiliated to the Assemblies of God and has more than a million members.

In a sermon on Sunday, The Gospel Herald reports that Cho told the congregation that his conviction was the hardest day of his 50-year ministry.

“God forbid, if God calls me back today, I will still be able to go to the Kingdom of God,” he was quoted by the website as saying.

Cho Hee-jun was sentenced to three years in prison for colluding in his father’s scheme.

Source: Pastor David Yonggi Cho convicted of embezzling $12m, ChristianToday, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pastor.david.yonggi.cho.convicted.of.embezzling.12m/35994.htm, Published 27/02/2014. (Accessed 05/03/2014.)

CHC Stands With The Convicted David Yonggi Cho: “We Stand By Him In This Time Of Need”

25 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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The scriptures say,

“But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:11-12

This scriptural instruction was given to the church to deal with immoral members. If you think this form of church discipline on members is severe, how serious do you think church discipline would be on Christian leaders caught in criminal activity?

Who knew that CHC would reject God’s Word and rather defend a pastor convicted of criminal activity? There is something seriously wrong when CHC defends a criminal in Christian leadership rather then defending God’s Word.

Will Phil Pringle and C3 stand by Yonggi Cho in this time of need as well?

A commentor from CHC confessions published a statement from CHC regarding David Yonggi Cho’s sentence,

Dear Church Family,

Re: News Of Dr Yonggi Cho’s Court Case

Some of you might have heard about Dr Yonggi Cho’s son being sentenced to three years’ jail. Dr Cho has been issued a fine and a five-year probation but he will not be jailed.

We are saddened by this news and our thoughts and prayers are with Dr Cho and his family as they go through this difficult time.

Dr Cho is the Senior Pastor Emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church. He has always been a great friend of our church and he has done innumerable good works for the Kingdom of God. We stand by him in this time of need.

The church leadership echoes the sentiments of a senior Yoido Full Gospel Church leader who says: “I have worked for Pastor Yonggi Cho for 40 years that I can say, Pastor Cho is living a very modest way in good example, and he usually gives away all the substances or personal donations that are given to him. Please consider what he has done for good, and please do not judge him by what his son did.”

Please join us in prayer for Dr Cho and his family.

In Christ,

The CHC Management Board

FAQ

It was reported in the Korean press on 20 February 2014 that Dr Yonggi Cho’s son has been sentenced to three years’ jail. Dr Cho has been fined US$4.7m and given a five-year probation but he will not be jailed.

Dr Cho is the Senior Pastor Emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, which has over 800,000 members and is widely considered as the world’s largest Christian congregation. According to a report in Korea Joong Kang Daily, during the 90-minute sentencing on 20 February, the courtroom was packed with church members, “a testament to the influence the Cho family wielded in the mega-church.”

While there has been talk of an appeal, Dr Cho has decided to accept the judgment of the court as an appeal may force him into an adversarial stance against his son, says a senior elder of the church and a close personal friend to Dr Cho.

What was the case all about?

According to News 1 Korea, a Korean internet news portal, in September 2011, 30 elders of Yoido Full Gospel Church made a formal complaint that Dr Cho and his son had misused over 20 billion won (US$18.7m) of church money to purchase shares of stock. The police began investigations in December 2012.

According to Korea Joong Kang Daily’s report on 21 February, Dr Cho stood trial on charges that he ordered church officials in 2002 to purchase 250,000 shares of stock for I-Service, a company owned by his oldest son Cho Hee-jun, 49, at a price four times higher than market value, causing the church to lose 13.1 billion won.

Prosecutors argued that Dr Cho’s son had asked his father to purchase the shares at a much higher cost to recoup the 20 billion won he lost in stock investments two years earlier — a claim the court accepted.

Why does Dr Cho face penalties?

News 1 Korea says that the court judge stated that the reason for the penalty was due to the specific evasion of taxes amounting to 3.5 billion won (US$3.3m). But it also stated that this had something to do with wrong advice given by the accounting firm.

The court judge read out the statement that although the crime was initiated by the son, he couldn’t have caused the church such a big loss without Dr Cho’s help, due to the latter’s position in the church.

We understand from very reliable sources that Dr Cho had no personal gain from any of the investments.

Is it true Dr Cho will be jailed?

The two largest Korean newspapers The Chosun Ilbo and Joong Ang Ilbo have both reported that Dr Cho will not be jailed. He is under probation for five years, which we understand to mean that he will be under the watch of the authorities.

According to Korea Joong Kang Daily’s report, the judge explained: “Considering how the defendant has led his life in tumultuous times, and contributions he has made to society as a religious man, the court has decided to suspend his prison term for five years.”

What did Dr Cho’s son do?

According to news reports, Dr Cho’s eldest son Cho Hee-jun, who has been in jail twice before, apparently lost that sum while serving as chairman of the newspaper Kookmin Ilbo, when he collected billions of won in donations from readers and church members to help cover the newspaper’s operating costs.

While delivering the three-year prison term, the judge rebuked him for attempting to shift the responsibility for his unethical business practices onto his father and other senior church members.

Korea Joong Kang Daily reported that the judge said of Cho Hee-jun: “The defendant’s behavior is subject to and deserves criticism.”

Cho Hee-jun was taken into custody immediately upon being sentenced.

What should we do now?

Dr Cho has been such a friend and mentor to our church. We are grateful to God that there is no jail term for Dr Cho. Let us pray for him, Dr Kim Sung-hae and their family in this challenging time.

We understand that Yoido Full Gospel Church should be issuing a formal statement in the coming days. That statement will be posted here in due time.

Updated as at 22 February 2014

Special Notices
22 Feb 2014
Re: News Of Dr Yonggi Cho’s

Source: Grace Tan, CHC Confessions, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CHCConfessions/posts/755571817795531?comment_id=7568643&offset=0&total_comments=38, Comment made on the 22/02/2014. (Accessed 24/02/2014.)

We thought it worth publishing the updated version,

We understand that Yoido Full Gospel Church should be issuing a formal statement in the coming days.
That statement will be posted here in due time.

Dear Church Family,

Re: News Of Dr Yonggi Cho’s Court Case

Some of you might have heard about Dr Yonggi Cho’s son being sentenced to three years’ jail. Dr Cho has been issued a fine and a three-year prison term which has been suspended for five years.

We understand that a suspended sentence is a sentence given after the formal conviction of a crime that the convicted person is not required to serve. We also understand Dr Cho has been issued a conditionally suspended sentence. This type of sentence withholds execution of the penalty as long as the defendant exhibits good behavior.

We are saddened by this news and our thoughts and prayers are with Dr Cho and his family as they go through this difficult time.

Dr Cho is the Senior Pastor Emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church. He has always been a great friend of our church and he has done innumerable good works for the Kingdom of God. We stand by him in this time of need.

The church leadership echoes the sentiments of a senior Yoido Full Gospel Church leader who says: “I have worked for Pastor Yonggi Cho for 40 years that I can say, Pastor Cho is living a very modest way in good example, and he usually gives away all the substances or personal donations that are given to him. Please consider what he has done for good, and please do not judge him by what his son did.”

Please join us in prayer for Dr Cho and his family.

In Christ,

The CHC Management Board

FAQ

It was reported in the Korean press on 20 February 2014 that Dr Yonggi Cho’s son has been sentenced to three years’ jail. Dr Cho has been issued a fine and a three-year prison term which has been suspended for five years.

We understand that a suspended sentence is a sentence given after the formal conviction of a crime that the convicted person is not required to serve. We also understand Dr Cho has been issued a conditionally suspended sentence. This type of sentence withholds execution of the penalty as long as the defendant exhibits good behavior.

Dr Cho is the Senior Pastor Emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, which has over 800,000 members and is widely considered as the world’s largest Christian congregation. According to a report in Joong Ang Daily, during the 90-minute sentencing on 20 February, the courtroom was packed with church members, “a testament to the influence the Cho family wielded in the mega-church.”

While there has been talk of an appeal, Dr Cho has decided to accept the judgment of the court as an appeal may force him into an adversarial stance against his son, says a senior elder of the church and a close personal friend to Dr Cho.

What was the case all about?

According to News 1 Korea, a Korean internet news portal, in September 2011, 30 elders of Yoido Full Gospel Church made a formal complaint that Dr Cho and his son had misused over 20 billion won (US$18.7m) of church money to purchase shares of stock. The police began investigations in December 2012.

According to Joong Ang Daily’s report on 21 February, Dr Cho stood trial on charges that he ordered church officials in 2002 to purchase 250,000 shares of stock for I-Service, a company owned by his oldest son Cho Hee-jun, 49, at a price four times higher than market value, causing the church to lose 13.1 billion won.

Prosecutors argued that Dr Cho’s son had asked his father to purchase the shares at a much higher cost to recoup the 20 billion won he lost in stock investments two years earlier — a claim the court accepted.

Why does Dr Cho face penalties?

News 1 Korea says that the court judge stated that the reason for the penalty was due to the specific evasion of taxes amounting to 3.5 billion won (US$3.3m). But it also stated that this had something to do with wrong advice given by the accounting firm.

The court judge read out the statement that although the crime was initiated by the son, he couldn’t have caused the church such a big loss without Dr Cho’s help, due to the latter’s position in the church.

We understand from very reliable sources that Dr Cho had no personal gain from any of the investments.

Is it true Dr Cho will be jailed?

The two largest Korean newspapers The Chosun Ilbo and Joong Ang Daily have both reported that Dr Cho will not be jailed.

According to Joong Ang Daily’s report, the judge explained: “Considering how the defendant has led his life in tumultuous times, and contributions he has made to society as a religious man, the court has decided to suspend his prison term for five years.”

What did Dr Cho’s son do?

According to news reports, Dr Cho’s eldest son Cho Hee-jun, who has been in jail twice before, apparently lost that sum while serving as chairman of the newspaper Kookmin Ilbo, when he collected billions of won in donations from readers and church members to help cover the newspaper’s operating costs.

While delivering the three-year prison term, the judge rebuked him for attempting to shift the responsibility for his unethical business practices onto his father and other senior church members.

Joong Ang Daily reported that the judge said of Cho Hee-jun: “The defendant’s behavior is subject to and deserves criticism.”

Cho Hee-jun was taken into custody immediately upon being sentenced.

What should we do now?

Dr Cho has been such a friend and mentor to our church. Let us pray for him and his family in this challenging time.

We understand that Yoido Full Gospel Church should be issuing a formal statement in the coming days.

That statement will be posted here in due time.

Updated as at 23 February 2014

Source: CHC, http://www.chc.org.sg/, Updated as at 23 February 2014. (Accessed 23/02/2014.)

proof_CHCChoUpdate_23-02-2014

David Yonggi Cho Scandal Paralleled To The Kong Hee Scandal

24 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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It is of our opinion that one can probably parallel these scandals to some of the scandals in the C3 movement.

The blog ‘Not Under The Table’ writes,

UPDATED 23/2/14: Lessons From the Sentencing of 2 Cho’s – How Christian Leaders Justify Responsibilities

The news broke today in a shocking manner with the following headlines:

1) “David Yonggi Cho, Founder of World’s Largest Church, Found Guilty of Breach of Trust, Corruption” (The Gospel Herald) and

2) “Yoido Full Gospel church leaders found guilty of tax evasion” (The Hankyoreh)

3) “Pastor gets suspended prison term for massive embezzlement” (The Yonhap News Agency)

Dr Yonggi Cho, whom Pastor Kong Hee address to be his “Spiritual Father” and “Senior Pastor” is sentenced to 3-years in jail with 5-year suspension. This means that the jail term is deferred by 5-years and he will go to jail to serve sentence if is found to further misbehave during this 5-year term. It is still a jail sentence.

The court ruled that Dr Cho is guility of the following charges: (1) Tax evasion and (2) causing approximately 13 billion won (US$12 million) worth of losses to Yoido Full Gospel Church by instructing his church officials to buy stocks privately owned by his eldest son priced at 4x higher than market value in 2002.

Yonggi Cho Kong hee

“The criminal activity would have been impossible without the approval of Pastor Cho, who had ultimate decision-making authority,” the court ruled. “By condoning the documents that were being written while he was the head of the church, he was largely responsible for these crimes.” – The Hankyoreh

Earlier, in a Straits Times coverage of the news when investigations first began into the Korean Mega-pastor, Dr Cho had denied any wrong-doing, and dismissed the allegations as “a smear campaign by a very small group of people in his church” and that “those who filed the complaint will have to take responsibility accordingly” (ST, 22 Sep 2011)

When this article was first published, City Harvest Church also issued a statement regarding this matter (http://www.chc.org.sg/_eng/church/church_statementReYonggiCho.php):

CHC Statement

It is not the intention of this blog to judge a great man like Dr Yonggi Cho, who over the past decades had contributed greatly to the growth of Christianity and helped many people. We have our imperfections and do make mistakes, and do eventually pay the price for it.
However, the patterns of denial adopted up to the point of conviction finds close resemblances to what was seen in the “CHC Trial”:

1) Blame Shifting

“While delivering the three-year prison term for the former newspaper chairman, the judge rebuked the younger Cho for attempting to shift the responsibility for his unethical business practices onto his father and other senior church members.” (source)

Church Growth International Korea, the ministry founded by Dr Cho (independent and separate entity from Yoido Full Gospel Church) issued a statement to their Board Members claiming that the Korean judge, Hon. Yongtun Cho said that:

“The court considered that even though Pastor Cho had the final say in the church, he never took the lead in any of the crimes including tax evasion committed on the suggestion of the accounting firm.” (source)

“During the investigation, prosecutors also acquired evidence of tax evasion by David Cho. In 2004, when the Seoul regional tax office judged that this stock sale was a gift and ordered that 10.3 billion won (US$9.48 million) of taxes be paid, David Cho enlisted the aid of an accountant and submitted falsified documents to the tax office to disguise the transaction as a normal stock trade, not as a gift, prosecutors confirmed. He is suspected of using this means to only pay 4 billion won (US$3.68 million) in taxes, evading 6 billion won.” (source)

While he may not be the mastermind, he was unfortunately convicted because he allowed it to happen anyway – apparently rubber stamped whatever his son handed him. The key here is that as a leader, you cannot just claim ignorance and hope to get away. Tax evasion charges aside, he unfortunately gave instruction to siphon the money and ordered the stock purchase – resulting in the inevitable CBT charge which is even more damning and inexcusable – impossible to blame shift this.

Is it true that as long as the fault can be pushed away to another party, it would be “all clear” for the accused? Will it change the mindset of logical thinking adults? Or is it done in an attempt to continue to mislead the unknowing members? Throughout the CHC Trial, we have seen the blame pushed to the auditors, the CAD Investigating Officer and other parties including the media (accused to be bias) – me thinks it’s definitely not true, considering the coverage they gave Serina Wee. News is a business to sell more after all.

The CityNews Article (http://www.citynews.sg/2014/02/chc-trial-defense-establishes-that-evidence-cad-failed-to-seize-was-clearly-relevant-to-case/) was plastered on top of the City Harvest Church website (above the “Special Notices” tab). For the blame on the other parties, just refer to the CityNewsSG articles on their website, and my earlier blog articles. We need to be mindful that such articles coming from a church whose leaders are embroiled in a criminal charge do stir emotions and sentiments among the membership as well as members of the public, depending on where you look at it.

CHC School Of Theology

2) Threat and Warning

Such uses were probably aimed to threaten people who speak up with defamation lawsuits? Will this work? Considering the first line of defense against any form of defamation is the reporting of verifiable facts/truth, the threat would also fall on deaf grounds, no? 

“those who filed the complaint will have to take responsibility accordingly” (ST, 22 Sep 2011)

Didn’t work for you this time Dr Cho. Your 29 elders have the evidence and spoke boldly without fear of your threat.

CHC have used this to their full advantage over a decade ago in silencing businessman Roland Poon who asserted that church funds were used to fund Sun Ho’s Crossover Project. Roland Poon had to issue a public apology. Glad that he is now vindicated for the court has heard that church funds were indeed used to fund Sun Ho’s singing career from as early as 2001, and definitely in 2003.

Roland Poon Apology

Similarly, according to online media, Bobby Chaw, a pastor of CHC, also issued a warning about the media “pre-judging” in relation to the suspension of 9 key CHC staff. This was done through the official statement made by the church on 28 June 2012. It should be noted that as a leader, anything said in public has an influence on its followers. The result of such statements (personally, I view it as a threat, so do some other online media), made in a highly sensitive and emotional context resulted in a witch-hunt and name-calling for the COC by members of CHC. Not too nice to plaster more screenshots, but some are found in earlier posts. Me thinks that COC had been too nice; they should just make public it’s findings there and then – and once and for all put an end to all the name calling on the COC.

3) “Did not make any personal gain”

In an updated statement issued on 22 Feb 2014 regarding the sentencing of Dr Cho, the Management Board of CHC cited “very reliable sources that Dr Cho had no personal gain from any of the investments” (source)

One need not look far to find contradicting reports from the 29 elders who lodged the commission’s against Dr Cho. In fact, they have out forward some very serious allegations in their writing, besides those already charged:

“Ha Sang-ok , who was part of the group for nearly two decades, admits to being involved in some fraud : ” In the last 14 years I have seen and done bad things. I tried to convince the pastor to stop, but he paid no attention. His behavior is not that of a Christian, but like that of a guru of a sect“. (source)

“First, they claim that Cho returned only 64.3 billion won (US$60.2 million) of the 163.3 billion won (US$152.9 million) he borrowed from the church while building the CCMM Building between 1992 and 1998, when he was chairman of the church‘s Mission Society. The remaining 99 billion won (US$92.7 million), they say, was never returned.

It is also being claimed that Cho’s third son Seung-jae’s International Club Management Group bought three floors of the building from the church for 29.5 billion won (US$27.6 million) and sold them back three years later for 37.2 billion won (US$34.8 million) – pocketing the difference of 7.7 billion won (US$7.2 million).

They also claimed that David Cho’s wife Kim Sung-hae, president of Hansei University, has yet to account for 10.5 billion won (US$9.8 million) paid by the church as support for Bethesda Christian University, an institution she runs in the US. The elders also view US real estate purchased by the university for around US$15 million as having been bought with church money.” (Source)

In the corporate statement dated 28 June 2012, Pastor Aries Zulkarnain also states that “no profit was gained by the individuals concerned” (source)

Just highlighting the similarities and at the same time wonder how this has got anything to do with the deeds already done. After all, how would these “reliable sources” know, and can we believe a statement based on unnamed “reliable sources”?

4) Complain is only made by the minority

According to the statement made by the CHC Management Board in 2011, the complain was made by 29 of over 800 elders, hence the implied treatment is that to ignore the minority’s view. If this is not a leading symptom of groupthink, I really don’t know what to call it.

Me thinks that when the minority’s alternate opinion is faced with the majority’s, in a highly charged environment with a charismatic leader, there’s no guessing whose opinion – no matter how truthful or factual will be dismissed. Just think Roland Poon.

Monkey See, Monkey Try to Outdo? Or Flocking Together Birds of Same Feather? 

If we examine the associations Pastor Kong Hee has with his group of  “spiritual fathers” and good friends (let’s not talk about the advisory pastor pair of Phil Pringle and AR Bernard now – will examine them in due time), it is surprising what we can find:

1) Steve Munsey: Regular weekend service and conference speaker in CHC from 2008 to 2011

– Over-indulgence in personal benefits, while failing to make mortgage repayments, resulting in foreclosure order

List of sources:

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/munster/local-megachurch-navigates-precarious-path/article_2f3b628a-0f42-5355-a8a0-230b1cb1aab8.html

http://www.salon.com/2013/03/05/indiana_mega_church_faces_foreclosure_partner/

http://www.christianpost.com/news/indianas-largest-megachurch-faces-new-foreclosure-proceedings-90769/

2) Abraham Alex Taneseputra: Considered to be another “Spiritual Father” to Pastor Kong
– accused of embezzling approximately USD500million (4.7T INR)
Sources (google-translated from Bahasa Indonesia, so the language syntax might be off – best read from original source language):

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=126527234050583&story_fbid=340150022763459 (contains separate articles)

Kong Hee – The Successor to Abraham Alex and Yonggi Cho

In the May 2010 Asia Conference, Dr Cho have laid hands on Pastor Kong and handed the baton to him. It seems that he is the designated successor to Dr Cho, who prophesied that he will outdo his accomplishments.

In another meeting in Indonesia, Alex Abraham also named Pastor Kong to be his successor and prophesied over him that he will have “full vindication” from the Lord. (video recording of service available upon request – link private after being removed)

What is the outcome of such laying on of hands is still to be seen in the coming months, but if there’s any potential of impartation, then whatever is on the hands of the imparter will certainly go to the impartee – might not be a good thing after all.

Bottom line in the Dr Cho case, is that, in the own words of the Management Board, he is “innocent until proven guilty” and all have waited until “due process of the law is complete”. And sorry to note, their “reliable sources” who claimed that this was a “civil suit” have failed them again – it’s a criminal proceeding.

If past history is a good gauge of future occurrences, then everything that was ever said by them just fell to the ground. This is certainly not a happy day for Christianity in Singapore and the world. They can always blame their sources for misleading them, anyway.

Source: UPDATED 23/2/14: Lessons From the Sentencing of 2 Cho’s – How Christian Leaders Justify Responsibilities, Not Under The Table, http://notunderthetable.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/lessons-from-sentencing-of-2-chos-how.html, Friday, 21 February 2014. (Accessed 24/02/2014.)

Ps David Yonggi Cho of Yoido Full Gospel Church Sentenced “Three Years In Prison, Suspended For Five Years, And … To Pay 5 billion Won”

21 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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The golden prosperity triangle is falling. While Phil Pringle’s protege Kong Hee is still going through court procedures of mishandling church funds of up to $40 million US, their mentor David Yonggi Cho has been sentenced “to three years in prison, suspended for five years, and ordered… to pay 5 billion won (US$4.67 million) in fines”.

Don’t forget that Cho said earlier in the investigations that he, “denied the allegations, calling them a smear campaign by a very small group of people in his church. ‘The truth will reveal itself during the prosecutors’s investigation. Those who filed the complaint will have to take responsibility accordingly.”

Not only did David Yonggi Cho smear his elders (what Kong Hee and Phil Pringle would call critics), he relies on the courts to reveal “the truth” rather deal with it biblically within the church. We have see this similar behaviour in the C3 movement and CHC. It is of our opinion that events like these reinforce the obvious factor that such men like Phil Pringle, Kong Hee and David Yonggi Cho do not behave honestly in the church.

And for teachers who always teach on faith, where is it now?

The Hankyoreh reports,

Yoido Full Gospel church leaders found guilty of tax evasion

yonggi cho jailed

Yoido Full Gospel Church senior pastor David Yonggi Cho is surrounded by supporters and bodyguards as he leaves Seoul District Court in Seocho district after being sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, and ordered him to pay 5 billion won (US$4.67 million) in fines, Feb. 20. Cho’s bodyguards kept reporters away from Cho, struck a female reporter and destroyed a camera belong to KBS. (by Kim Bong-gyu, staff photographer)

Senior pastor David Yonggi Cho gets lighter sentence on account of his religious activities

On Feb. 20, Hon. Cho Yong-hyun with the 23rd criminal division of the Seoul District Court sentenced David Yonggi Cho, 78, senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, to three years in prison, suspended for five years, and ordered him to pay 5 billion won (US$4.67 million) in fines. Cho was charged with causing around 13.1 billion won in damages to his church and evading approximately 3.5 billion won in taxes in the process (embezzlement as defined in the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes). In addition, Pastor Cho’s oldest son Cho Hee-jun, 49, former chairman of the Yeongsan Christian Culture Center, was given a three-year prison sentence and taken into custody.

“The criminal activity would have been impossible without the approval of Pastor Cho, who had ultimate decision-making authority,” the court ruled. “By condoning the documents that were being written while he was the head of the church, he was largely responsible for these crimes.”

The court also took into consideration the fact that Pastor Cho has contributed to social welfare over the years as a religious figure, which it explained as the reason for his lenient sentence.

The court sentenced Cho Hee-jun to actual time in prison, regarding him as the mastermind behind most of the crimes, including dereliction of duty.

Cho was indicted in 2013 on charges of professional negligence and tax evasion. At the request of his son, Cho allegedly had Yoido Full Gospel Church purchase 250,000 shares of stock in I-Service held by the Yeongsan Christian Culture Center at 86,984 won per share, even though the shares were only worth 34,386 won each, resulting in a 13.1 billion won loss for the church. When a gift tax was imposed on the church’s expensive stock purchase, Cho allegedly submitted documents to the tax authorities depicting the transaction as a normal loan, evading 3.5 billion won in taxes.

Source: By Kim Mi-hyang, Senior pastor David Yonggi Cho gets lighter sentence on account of his religious activities, The Hankyoreh, http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/625270.html, 21/02/2014. (Accessed 21/02/2014.)

Related articles:

David Yonngi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 1)

David Yonngi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 2)

David Yonggi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 3)

David Yonggi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 4)

David Yonggi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 5) – Sex Scandal Included?

Prosecutors Say That ‘Pastor’ David Yonggi Cho “Has Been Indicted On Charges Of Breach Of Duty And Tax Evasion”

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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WHO IS ‘PASTOR’ KONG HEE ACCOUNTABLE TO?

‘Pastor’ David Yonggi Cho is internationally recognised of having the worlds largest church.

We have covered articles how David Yonggi Cho mentors ‘Pastor’ and Founder Phil Pringle of the Christian City Church Movement (Sydney, Australia) and ‘Pastor’ and founder Kong Hee of City Harvest Church (Singapore). We know that Kong Hee is accountable to Phil Pringle. However recently Yonggi Cho sent his love and support to Kong Hee and Sun Ho. Kong Hee wrote,

“A greeting by my pastor.. Dr Yonggi Cho, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea!” – Kong Hee, Video Greeting by Dr Yonggi Cho, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151320404966895&set=vb.11407771894&type=3&theater, 18 April 2013. (Accessed 09/06/2013.)

proof_fb-KongAndCho_10-06-13

Yonggi Cho is Kong Hee’s pastor? Is this who Kong Hee is accountable too? If he is, then CHC members should be concerned.

WHO IS ‘PASTOR’ YONGGI CHO ACCOUNTABLE TO?

It is important you read these previous articles before reading the latest news.

The first article reveals how Yonggi Cho seemed to lack any accountability to his elders. The question has to be asked, who is David Yonggi Cho accountable to in his church? Is this why we are seeing scandals break out in Phil Pringle’s C3 Church Movement and Kong Hee’s CHC leadership? Who are Kong Hee and Phil Pringle accountable to?

David Yonngi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 1)

David Yonngi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 2)

David Yonggi Cho Church Fraud Investigation? (Part 3)

The Global Post reports,

Pastor indicted for allegedly causing huge losses to church

SEOUL, June 9 (Yonhap) — A noted pastor has been indicted on charges of breach of duty and tax evasion, prosecutors said Saturday.

Cho Yong-gi, the founder and pastor emeritus of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, is suspected of causing 15.7 billion won (US$14 million) worth of losses to the church by instructing church officials to buy stocks privately owned by his eldest son Hee-jun at prices four times higher than market value in 2002, they said.

The pastor is also accused of evading 3.5 billion won in taxes in the process.

Prosecutors indicted the son and former chairman of the daily newspaper Kookmin Ilbo on embezzlement charges in December.

After investigating him, prosecutors said the pastor is an accomplice in the alleged crime.

Source: Yonhap News Agency, Global Post, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/yonhap-news-agency/130609/pastor-indicted-allegedly-causing-huge-losses-church, 09/06/2013. (Accessed 10/06/2013.)

proof_globalpost-yonggichoscandal_10-06-2013

Pringle Should Be Worried About His Associations More Than His Critics (Who is ‘Pastor’ Alex Abraham?)

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in C3 & Pringles Associations

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Pastor Phil Pringle of C3 Church Oxford Falls, is on the ‘Church Growth International’ (CGI) board with Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church. Alongside other CHC staff or members, Kong Hee is facing charges of mishandling church funds of up to S$50 million. The CGI was founded by David Yonggi Cho (of Yoido Full Gospel Church). David Yonggi Cho is under investigation for mishandling church funds of up to US$14.72 million. Also on this board is Pastor Alex Abraham of Bethany Church, Indonesia.

City News reported in 2010,

“To introduce Cho, Dr. Paul Kim, executive director of CGI, took to the stage to introduce the Korean pastors and disciples of Cho, calling them his spiritual children. He introduced the board members from CGI who were present, among them Phil Pringle, Prince Guneratnam, Richard Bernal and Ken Eldred. Kim also announced that Alex Abraham from Indonesia had been invited to join them as the newest board member.” – By Sharon Chew, Asia Conference, The Memory Of The Cross, City News, http://www.citynews.sg/2010/06/the-memory-of-the-cross/, Posted on 05/05/2010. (Accessed 06/05/2013.) (Emphasis ours.)

As a new member of CGI, it appears Phil Pringle decided to speak at Pastor Abraham Alex Tanuseputra’s church.

30th May 2010
Ps Phil speaking for Dr. Alex Abraham’s
Bethany Graha Nginden, Surabaya Indonesia
6.30am, 9.30am, 1.30pm, 5.00pmJl.Nginden Intan Timur I/29
Surabaya Jawa Timur Indonesia
Ph: +62 31 5936880
www.bethanygraha.org

– My Itinerary, http://philpringle.wordpress.com/my-itinerary/, 2010. (Accessed 06/05/2013.)

proof_philpringle-itineraryAlexAbraham_06-05-2013

So why are we looking at Pastor Abraham Alex Tanuseputra of Bethany Church?

Recently IndoBoom reported the following about Pastor Alex Abraham,

Church Pastor Embezzles 4.7 Trillion from Church Offerings

by  on Thursday, February 21, 2013

From Kompas and Surabaya Pagi:

Pastor Abraham Alex Reported for Embezzling Rp 4.7 Trillion [~US$ 500 million]

Who could have guessed and predicted that a priest’s great name could be held as a guarantee for being free of financial problems? Pastor Abraham Alex Tanuseputra, who has recently been glorified as the founding father of Bethany Church, allegedly embezzled Rp 4.7 trillion from Bethany’s congregation. “I have consulted at the Indonesian National Police Headquarters level. From the data that I have already presented to the investigator, Pastor Abraham Alex is not only suspected of embezzling the church’s funds, but there is also a strong indication that he’s involved in money laundering,” expressed George Handiwiyanto, SE, SH, MH, to the Special Police Criminal Investigation Directorate for the East Java area.

George predicts that this criminal report against Pastor Abraham Alex will take the public by storm because that person is a pastor. “The congregation’s money is given to God and not for personal expenses or even distributed to family members,” expressed the lawyer who is also a Christian. He emphasizes that this criminal report is to remind all those who manage the finances for congregations of any religion to be trustful and to not use it for business or family purposes. Asked whether the evidence related to these embezzlement and money laundering allegations were already prepared, George replied emphatically, “I am a servant of the Lord who demands truth and justice. So I do not mess around. Moreover, in the judicial system, the evidence must be prepared completely and accurately. Insha Allah, I’ll officially submit it soon to the investigators,” added the man who is known to enjoy entertainment, sports and social activities.

According to George Handiwiyanto, the scandal regarding the mismanagement of Bethany Indonesian Church’s funds, which is located in the residential area of Nginden Intan Timur, Surabaya, has been going on for quite some time. “In 2007, there were some rumors about it but my clients wanted to settle it internally as it was related to the church and its congregation. Since there had been no good faith from Pastor Abraham Alex, therefore to seek justice and the truth, in the end my client who is also a pastor reported this to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. However, Pastor Abraham Alex was not present during the arbitration. So now I escalate this to both the criminal and civil courts so people can learn that one can’t hide the truth regardless of how smart a person is” added this middle-aged man.

Pastor Alex Abraham Joint Sermon with Benny Hinn in Bethany Church Nginden Surabaya:

Source: By Ted, Church Pastor Embezzles 4.7 Trillion from Church Offerings, Pastor Abraham Alex Reported for Embezzling Rp 4.7 Trillion [~US$ 500 million], http://www.indoboom.com/2013/stories/church-pastor-embezzles-4-7-trillion-from-church-offerings.html, Thursday, February 21, 2013. (Accessed 06/05/2013.)

Edit (07/05/2013):

“Pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church preached at Bethany on 27 January 2013. After the service, Pastor Kong Hee invited Pastor Abraham Alex to pray a prayer of blessing over him. In that prayer, Pastor Abraham Alex prophesied 2 things over Pastor Kong:

1) He will be delivered in September 2013
2) He will fully own (100%) Suntec, paid in full.”

– REAL Truth Disclosed TLC, https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=348358431936702&id=301569623279202, 24/02/2013. (Accessed 06/05/2013.) [Prophecy was referred to this now removed link at 1:54:00 onwards:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_pflSzX780, “Bethany Nginden 01 27 20…”]

We have noticed similar behaviour between Pastor Abraham Alex Tanuseputra and Phil Pringle. Both Pringle and Abraham prophesied over Kong Hee that he will completely own SunTec City and that he would be ‘delivered’ from his current circumstances.

Kong Hee To Phil Pringle: “You created this mess! You’ve Got To Come And Help Us Fix It”

Prophet Pringle Plundering People’s Pockets For Kong Hee’s Cause

Since Phil Pringle said he preaches at CHC so Kong Hee can travel to other churches to explain his circumstances and gain ‘support’, this should make Christians question if Kong Hee also gained financial support from Alex Abraham’s church.