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Tag Archives: yoido full gospel church

C3 Leaders Idolising Pringle’s Criminal Mentor Yonggi Cho & Misleading congregants

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

c3 oxford falls, ccc, cccof, christian city church of, criminal, David Yonggi Cho, felon, Idolatry, leadership, liars, Phil Pringle, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

THE FACTS OF YONGGI CHO’S DANGEROUS BEHAVIOUR

David Yonggi Cho has recently spoken at C3 Church Oxford Falls. What makes his invitation so scandalous is how C3 leadership are deliberately lying to their congregation in their attempt to cover up the fact that Yonggi Cho is a convicted criminal.

“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.” [Source]

Because of this, he is disqualified to pastor at all, ever again because of his criminal record, his unruly son, his public reputation and his love for money (Read 1&2 Timothy). We also consider Yoido Full Gospel Church a cult, considering “International Apostle” Cho is accountable to no one – not even his elders who tried to blow the whistle on his crimes:

“Yoido Full Gospel Church has suspended or expelled 28 elders for not withdrawing legal accusations against senior pastor David Yonggi Cho, 77.
The punishments are a form of retaliation for blowing the whistle on alleged misdeeds by Cho and his son Hee-jun, 48.” [Source] [Emphasis ours]

Yonggi’s disciple, Phil Pringle, has no allowing this cult leader, criminal and illegal pastor to speak at his church. Instead, Pringle recently stated on Instagram that Yonggi Cho has “Faced many challenges and has remained true”.

True to what Pringle?

C3 LEADERS WORSHIPING PRINGLE’S CRIMINAL MENTOR

Christian McCudden wrote on Instagram,

Amazing night in Sydney with Ps @philpringle and Dr Youngi Cho, amazing download of wisdom, faith and inspiration. #gratefulforourleaders

Source: Christian McCudden, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/BCKgWA7LWxN6Yd42p8Gdsgiyw19JAWtg9AmMro0/, Published 24/02/2016. (Accessed 25/02/2016.)

proof_InstagramChoAtC3-1_25-02-2016

Pringle put this out on Instagram,

Loved #Leaderstablesessions yesterday with Dr David Yonggi Cho from Seoul, who has led an 800,000 people congregation for many years. Faced many challenges and has remained true. 80th birthday. Thanks@john_pearce for hosting#superpastorsday @C3OF#powerofdreamsandvision Dr Cho speaks again tonight 7pm C3 Oxford Falls. All welcome. #seeyouinchurch

Source: Phil Pringle, Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/p/BCL-srgNP16/, Published 25/02/2016. (Accessed 25/02/2016.)

proof_Instagram-PringleAndChoC3-25-02-2016

[More C3 hero worship will be posted here as they surface.]

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

05 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

c3, c3 church, c3 church oxford falls, C3OF, CHC, Cho, Christian City Church, City Harvest Church, David Yonggi Cho, Heaven Meets, Heaven Meets Earth, heavenmeetsearth, Kong Hee, Phil Pringle, Presence 2014, Presence Conference, Presence Conference 2014, YFGC, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

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.”

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There’s No Business Like Cho Business

13 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

c3 church, CHC, Christian City Church, city harvest, City Harvest Church, David Yonggi Cho, Kong Hee, Phil Pringle, YFGC, yoido full gospel church

Not Under The Table does a very good job sifting through the statement of Bob Rodgers. They help clarify the issues around the Yonggi Cho scandal:

Setting The Record Straight on Deluded Christianity

Earlier today, Pastor Bob Rodgers, the pastor of Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville wrote an article titled “Setting The Record Straight on David Yonggi Cho” in Charisma News’ Opinion section. Pastor Bob is the current president of Church Growth International Americas, the ministry founded by Pastor Yonggi Cho, who was recently convicted of criminal charges of tax evasion and breach of trust by the Korean court and sentenced to 3-years in jail, but jail term was changed to 5-year suspension due to age and mitigating factors.

In his article, he tried to imply that the news that shook the world is nothing more than a “slant of some of the media reports“, and wanted “certain details of the situation to be made known“. While I believe his personal experience of knowing him the past 40 years, and being in the court proceedings, I do think that the accusation of the “media slant” is trying a tad too hard to justify the failure of the highly respected church leader. Besides, as the president of CGI Americas, his position is also conflicted to give such endorsement.

What’s more interesting to note was that the article was shared and re-shared all over social media as some valid explanation to water down the impact of the court sentence that the elder Cho was not entirely at fault – “he trusted his elders and son and didn’t check and read the thousands of pages of paperwork, which was prepared for him to sign. Because Cho relied upon the direction of his choice elders and son, he signed the papers“.

Is that really the case? I’ll share my opinion of why I feel so wrong about the slant contained in this article:

Blaming The Prodigal Son

“Cho has three sons. The second and third sons are very productive and work in church-related ministries. His eldest son has been the prodigal. He has been married four times and has been involved in sexual scandals with national personalities. In addition, he has served prison time for investment scams and embezzlement. His scandalized life has been an embarrassment to his family and the church.

Twelve years ago, this son purposely defrauded the church in excess of $12 million in a stock-related scheme. Cho testified that he trusted his elders and son and didn’t check and read the thousands of pages of paperwork, which was prepared for him to sign. Because Cho relied upon the direction of his choice elders and son, he signed the papers. He never received any monies from the transaction.”

Pastor Bob, you can say that the eldest son hoodwinked the elder Cho to sign certain documents, but you cannot deny the intention of the elder Cho to cover up the deed deliberately. In fact, when confronted, he denied it and instead, claimed that it was a “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)

“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)

Not to mention, being man-handled by an elder with a choke-hold and threatened for speaking up:

He never took the lead in any of the crimes

“Third, the presiding judge said, “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.””

It was quite obvious for a man of his stature and power, that surely he must have given some instructions in order to make certain things happen:

“David Cho received a report from a general manager at Yoido Full Gospel Church surnamed Kim that said, “If the elders and believers find out that the church is purchasing I-Service stock at the high price of 86,984 won per share, stock which the church has absolutely no need for, there could be a huge uproar.” Nevertheless, the pastor said, “We have no choice, since Hee-jun is in a difficult situation right now,” directing that the matter be dealt with as quietly as possible to avoid causing any trouble in the church. In other words, David Cho was receiving reports about and giving orders concerning the purchase of the stock that resulted in a loss for the church.” (source)

The Prodigal Son Instigated the Crime

“The court also considered Cho’s life journey as a religious leader and his long-term contribution to social welfare as mitigating circumstances on his behalf. The court ruled that his son, Cho Hee-Jun, was the instigator of the crime related to the purchase of the shares of 1-Service stock.“

“Although the judge believes that Cho should be severely punished for committing breach of trust, especially for a person of his status in society, he gave a light sentence on Cho’s tax evasion in consideration of Cho’s long-term contributions to the society, the Yonghap News reported.” (source)

Fact is, he gave the green light. Period.

For all the justifications that we can give to the religious leader, let’s not forget that he had a choice – which is to silently use church funds to buy his son’s shares at a high price in order to save his son, or let the judicial system and God work its course – to pay the price, and give his son the chance of a brand new life. Unfortunately, he chose the former.

To all pastors out there, instead of justifying why his deeds are “acceptable” and/or “circumstantial”, why not reflect on what the bible says about the requirements to be a good Christian elder/leader? Forgotten Paul’s instruction to Timothy?

Do we need a court conviction to wake up and expose a wayward Christian leader? Are we incapable of proper self-governance and to live a life above and beyond reproach, as a religious leader? Is it time we ought to be conducting an internal audit of our leadership and testimony, before we even mercilessly judge the outside world of their sins, while slamming Christians who speak up against abuse of authority and wrong-doings in Church with the “do not judge” tagline? Let’s not forget the bible tells us not to judge the world, but to judge ourselves, those inside the church – so that they will not be a disgrace to the world and bring shame to the name of God – that the church cannot even manage it’s own affairs. 

The Reflection of Pastor Cho – After the Sentence

Pastor Cho on Sunday addresed his congregation that “through “this suffering” 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,” Pastor David Yonggi Cho told Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Seoul, South Korea. Cho added that he hopes that God forgives him for his actions. (source)

Timely reflection, or a face-saving moment? Not forgetting what happens 3 years before the sentence:

when confronted, he denied it and instead, claimed that it was a “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)

Is this another media slant, Pastor Bob?

We are seeing pastors today scooting around in private jet, luxurious homes, extravagant lifestyle – while members are struggling hand-to-mouth, the money collected while many parts of the world people go hungry, lack education, clean water, etc. What would Jesus Do? What would you do?

While I acknowledge that nobody is perfect and all make mistakes, there are some mistakes the everyday Christian who makes a honest living and simply love their pastors by trusting and giving them their best will never commit – unlike what the mega-pastor attempts – threaten the minority, bully the weak, manipulate the generous, etc. They may lie about how they spent their last Christmas because they feel bad about not giving their family the best, having giving much of their finances to the church, but they will not lie like many of the pastors do.

Jesus cursed the fig tree. What would you do, Pastor Bob?

Accept the sentence. A mistake is made. Deal with it. Don’t justify. It’s sick.

Source: Setting The Record Straight on Deluded Christianity, Not Under The Table, http://notunderthetable.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/setting-record-straight-on-deluded.html, Published 26/02/2014. (Accessed 02/03/2014.)

Related articles:

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

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

Charismatic Leader Steven Lambert Versus Charismatic Leader David Yonggi Cho

David Yonggi Cho Scandal Paralleled To The Kong Hee Scandal

ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

Christian Post Reports On Bob Rodgers Defense Of David Yonggi Cho

Operation Wolf Pack: David Yonggi Cho Damage Control

Charisma Covering Cho’s Woes

CHC Publishes Yoido Full Gospel Church Statement

Christianity Today & Huffington Post Report On Yonggi Cho Scandal

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

Cho’s Woes

Kong Hee & Phil Pringle’s Mentor David Yonggi Cho Convicted For Tax Evasion

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

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

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations, C3 Asheville Scandal

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

c3, C3 Churc, charismatic, Cho, Christian City Church, david cho, David Yonggi Cho, Grady, J. Lee, J. Lee Grady, Lee Grady, pentecostal, Phil Pringle, Reformed, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

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.)

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

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Cho, David Yonggi Cho, John Piper, Phil Pringle, Piper, scandal, yoido full gospel church

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.)

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David Baker Discusses The Issues With David Yonggi Cho’s Leadership

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

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c3 asheville scandal, c3 balmain scandal, C3 Canberra Scandal, c3 church, c3 church scandal, c3 movement, C3 Mt Annan Scandal, C3 Oxford Falsl scandal, C3 Parramatta Scandal, c3 scandal, C3 White Horse Scandal, C3 Whitehorse Scandal, CHC, chc scandal, Christian City Church, christian city church scandal, christian city church scandals, City Harvest Church, city harvest church scandal, David Yonggi Cho, david yonggi cho scandal, David Yonggi Cho: Money, Kong Hee, kong hee scandal, Phil Pringle, phil pringle scandal, power and the perils of church leadership, repent, repentance, scandal, sex, YFGC scandal, yoido full gospel church, yoido full gospel church scandal, Yonggi Cho scandal

To Our C3 Member Readership…

… We have a number of articles lined up for you to print and pass around your friends, families and cell groups.

The scandal of Yonggi Cho is raising serious discussions among popular Christian reporters, writers, teachers and so-called Christian leaders.

While we do not agree with every theological point in this article, Baker’s overall advice should be considered as a direct warning to the unrepentant sins of Phil Pringle and his C3 movement. Following on from our previous articles, can you see the issues we may disagree within this article?

1. What similarities do you see in Yoido Full Gospel Church leadership that is also evident in your C3 Church leadership?

2. How would you deal with these issues if they happened at C3 Church?

3. Would you encourage your cell group members to stand and endorse David Yonggi Cho?

4. What do you think Phil Pringle should biblically do?

David Baker from the Christian Post reports,

David Yonggi Cho: Money, sex, power and the perils of church leadership

It doesn’t look like good news for the gospel when the senior pastor of one of the world’s largest Christian congregations is convicted of corruption.

As this website has reported, David Yonggi Cho, founder of the million-strong Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, has been found guilty of embezzling $12 million in church funds. He was sentenced to three years in prison – suspended for five years – and ordered to pay $4.67 million in fines.

As a report by the Gospel Herald put it, the news “spread like wildfire among global Christian communities, where followers of the disgraced South Korean mega-church pastor searched for an explanation of how their spiritual leader became entangled in the crime”.

Perhaps, however, we should not be so surprised. Christian leaders are no more immune from temptation than anyone else – and it is often money, sex or power which trips them up. Yet the New Testament sets a high standard for those who aspire to have oversight of congregations, declaring that they “must be blameless – not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, and not pursuing dishonest gain,” as Paul puts it in his Epistle to Titus. Rather, they must be “hospitable, love what is good… [and] self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined”. (Titus 1v7-8)

Nonetheless, Paul himself was the first to admit that sin was an ongoing struggle for him: “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out,” he laments in Romans 7. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Although some have argued he was speaking about his experience before becoming a Christian, the majority of Bible scholars – from Augustine through to the Reformation and beyond – agree that he was writing about his ongoing post-conversion struggle against sin. More recently, when Pope Francis was asked to define himself, he replied: “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”

Church leaders are not expected to be perfect – but they are expected to be living in daily repentance and faith. The problem for them comes when the daily battle against sin is abandoned, when it remains unconfessed to God, and when sin makes it impossible for them to discharge the duties of their ministry or brings the gospel into public disgrace.

In the case of David Yonggi Cho, one of his church elders has said: “Over the past 14 years, I have met with Rev Cho many times to try to persuade him to repent and return to being a great pastor, but the corruption has continued. That’s why I had no choice but to disclose it to the outside world.”

Sometimes, on the other hand, ministers are brought down by untrue accusations – or the misdeeds of others. Again, Paul wrote of experiencing “glory and dishonour, bad report and good report” and of his mission team being “genuine, yet regarded as impostors,” (2 Corinthians 6v7-9). In Cho’s case, one American minister and friend, Bob Rodgers, has suggested his downfall was at least in part due to naïvety in signing financial papers prepared by others without reading them properly.

Either way, the loneliness and lack of accountability which many church leaders experience makes them even more vulnerable to the temptations of Satan who is – after all – constantly seeking their downfall. Who are your church ministers? What could you pray for them each day? And what words of encouragement could you offer them today?

Source: By David Baker, The Christian Post, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/david.yonggi.cho.money.sex.power.and.the.perils.of.church.leadership/36083.htm, Published 4 March 2014. (Accessed 05/03/2014.)

Related articles:

Charismatic Leader Steven Lambert Versus Charismatic Leader David Yonggi Cho

David Yonggi Cho Scandal Paralleled To The Kong Hee Scandal

ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

Christian Post Reports On Bob Rodgers Defense Of David Yonggi Cho

Operation Wolf Pack: David Yonggi Cho Damage Control

Charisma Covering Cho’s Woes

CHC Publishes Yoido Full Gospel Church Statement

Christianity Today & Huffington Post Report On Yonggi Cho Scandal

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

Cho’s Woes

Kong Hee & Phil Pringle’s Mentor David Yonggi Cho Convicted For Tax Evasion

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

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Charismatic Leader Steven Lambert Versus Charismatic Leader David Yonggi Cho

06 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bentley, Bob Rodger, Bob Rodgers, David Yonggi Cho, Lambert, Rodgers, Spirit Life, Spirit Life Magazine, Steven Lambert, Todd Bentley, yoido full gospel church

CORRECTION TO THE BELOW ARTICLE

While we do agree with a lot of what Steven Lambert wrote in the below article, we disagree with him on this:

“This one act, as illegal and punishable under law as it is, should not define or diminish his obviously outstanding and meritorious achievements over six decades of pastoral service, particularly in building a church with over one-million members, and his work with Prayer Mountain, which has been a source of spiritual encouragement and edification to millions, including thousands of ministers who have retreated there for refreshment and refiring over the years. The Lord Himself promises in His Word that Pastor Cho’s labors shall not be forgotten by Him, but that there is an eternal record of them in Heaven.“

John the Baptist made it clear to the Pharisees that they needed to show the fruit of repentance if they were truly the Lord’s. (Luke 3:7-9.)

The Pharisees paraded their works before men to convince people that they were God’s teachers and leaders. However, they refused to repent of their false teachings and evil practices.

Similarly, it is not right to call David Yonggi Cho a Christian or a pastor if he has not repented of his false teachings over the last thirty years. Repentance has been lacking in David Yonggi Cho’s ministry since he started preaching the damnable prosperity gospel and his heretical fourth dimension teachings. These are not Christian teachings but echo the teachings of shamanism or gnosticism. (If you would like to see some of the disturbing doctrines David Yonggi Cho teaches, click here.)

Since David Yonggi Cho is unrepentant in his false teachings, should it surprise us that he was unrepentant in his sins when his elders tried to correct him?

It’s hard for us to say this but Jesus and his Apostles would have no issue writing against and condemning the ministry of David Yonggi Cho. David Yonggi Cho’s earthly crime is nothing in comparison to the crimes he has committed before God in heaven. How many people have gone to hell for believing his false gospel? How difficult has David Yonggi Cho made it for Christianity over in South Korea to preach the saving, biblical gospel? How many pastors and leaders has he corrupted with his false gospel and teachings?

According to Paul, a false gospel sends people to hell and as a result, Cho condemns himself. The Lord has made no promise to David Yonggi Cho that his labors will be remembered unless he repents. Pray that David Yonggi Cho repents for his own sake.

Steven Lambert of Spirit Life Magazine writes,

David Yonngi Cho Found Guilty of Embezzlement and Tax-Evasion

yonggi cho jailedAccording to published reports, David Yonngi Cho, 78, pastor of the world’s largest Pentecostal/Charismatic church, Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, was convicted last week of embezzlement and tax-evasion, and sentenced to three years in prison. Cho founded the church that now boasts more than 1 million members, in 1958, and short time afterward affiliated the church with the Assemblies of God Pentecostal denomination.

Reportedly, the crux of the case was a purchase of 250,000 shares of publicly traded stock owned by his oldest son, Cho Hee-jun, which he had originally purchased in 2002, at four times their market value. The elder Cho, according to the charges of which he was convicted ordered church officials to execute the purchase on his behalf, which is illegal and the foundation of the tax-evasion aspect of the case. Apparently, church funds were used to make the purchase in the name of David, who many years ago changed his name from Paul, which was the foundation for the embezzlement aspect of the case.

Cho was also ordered by the judge to pay approximately $4.6 million in fines

Yonhap News Agency reported that in the sentencing phase, the judge expressed his conviction that in view of his status in society, Cho’s punishment for his flagrant breach of trust should be severe, but that his positive contributions to society as pastor of the mega-church for so many decades was deserving of some consideration in terms of punishment, and based on that was levying a lighter sentence for the tax evasion offense than what could have been levied under South Korean law. Cho was also ordered by the judge to pay approximately $4.6 million in fines as part of the adjudication of the case. Cho Hee-jun, Yonngi Cho’s eldest son, who owned the stocks purchased, was also sentenced to three years in prison for his part in the illegal scheme.

In 1996 I authored and published a book titled, CHARISMATIC CAPTIVATION—Authoritarian Abuse & Psychological Enslavement In Neo-Pentecostal Churches, in which I describe a “church growth seminar” I attended in the late 1970s, the featured speaker of which was a then 40-something pastor of the world’s largest Pentecostal/Charismatic church, named (then) Paul Yonngi Cho. I did not name him in the book when it was written, but described him as being “the prominent and highly‑regarded pastor of the world’s largest Charismatic church,” and described the psychological enslavement methodologies and governmental structure system he was touting as, “designed to ensnare members and make it very difficult for them to ever leave the local church.”

Out of deference to Karl Strader, who I then and now regarded as an honorable man, who, in terms of his pastoral ministry, highly values and expounds Biblical truth, I also did not name him in the book as being the senior pastor of the church that hosted these seminars, First Assembly of God in Lakeland, Florida, which some years later purchased and occupied the 10,000-seat Carpenter’s Home facility, which the church, after several church-splits, was subsequently forced to sell. Carpenter’s Home Church was also the host of another controversial occurrence a decade and a half later—the so-called “Laughing Revival” spearheaded by the highly controversial South African evangelist, who with his blatant condescension of other church leaders coupled with hisacutely narcissistic personality managed in a few years to alienate thousands of American pastors, Rodney Howard-Browne, which “revival” spawned (albeit through other principals) the subsequent “Brownsville Revival” and the “Toronto Airport Revival,” to name the best known, along with some other alleged “fire outbreaks” in various parts of this nation and others.

Incredibly, another decade and a half or so later, Karl Strader’s son’s (Stephen Strader) church, was the host of what is arguably the most controversial and damaging so-called “revival” in Pentecostal/Charismatic history, i.e., “The Lakeland Outpouring“(1) as it was hubristically originally called by its organizers, or what it was later called, “The Lakeland Revival,” the principal preacher of which was the tattooed head-to-foot former child molester and mental-illness sufferer weirdo, Todd Bentley, who during the course of the “revival” was carrying on an adulterous affair with a ministry worker that had begun years before, and who also reportedly was inebriated on drugs and alcohol as he ministered in many of the meetings. When the revival abruptly ended as a result of exposure of these and other revelations regarding Bentley, he forged ahead to divorce his wife, leaving their three children without a father, and marry his illicit paramour. Moreover, some of the most mystifying and troublesome controversy swirling around the revival had to do with the very public endorsement (though they denied that’s what it was) of an expansive number of supposed top Charismatic leaders who had been supporters and endorsers of Bentley’s highly controversial, unconventional, and bizarre ministry antics, obvious psychological problems, strange manic-depressive personality quirks, unChrist-like lifestyle, confirmed sexual deviancy (including pedophilia and bisexuality), history of drug, marijuana, and alcohol abuse, and his extreme obsession with physical self-defilement in the form of tattoo-mania that compelled him to cover nearly every inch of his body with weird-looking tattoos, which he often bragged about and showed off to the world in front of cameras at revival meetings; not to mention his illegal physical assaults of people who he kicked and punched as part of what he considered ministry effects, and his constant outright blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in which he attributed his obviously demonic ministry antics and tactics and extremely unbiblical and heretical teachings to the Holy Spirit.

Without any doubt, the Lakeland Revival was one of the saddest, thoroughly humiliating, and egregiously damaging chapter in Charismatic history.

Without any doubt, the Lakeland Revival was one of the saddest, thoroughly humiliating, and egregiously damaging chapter in Charismatic history. It, coupled with the other demonically-inspired controversial occurrences that have emerged out of Lakeland and its environs (eg., the conviction and long-term imprisonment of another of Karl Strader’s sons for illegal business dealings, the aforementioned rancorous splits of First AG of Lakeland, aka, Carpenter’s Home Church, the many wars and rumors of wars associated with the Peninsular Florida District of the Assemblies of God whose headquarters is in Lakeland, the seemingly never-ending Randy and Paula White saga, etc. etc.) and it makes people begin to wonder what is in the water in Lakeland that is causing so much church controversy to rise up out of the small, sleepy Central Florida town.

But, I digress. Returning to the original topic of David Yonngi Cho’s conviction and imprisonment, and what I wrote about him and his fallacious and unbiblical teaching predicated on spiritual abuse he was peddling and proliferating in the United States back in the late 70s during the waning years of the Shepherding Movement, the following is the excerpt about the seminar and book he was promulgating all over this nation and many other nations of the world. I present it here, because I believe now and believed then that while the result of the largest mega-church in the world may appear on the surface to be an unchallengeable and highly meritorious and monumental achievement for those who measure church-building success with the yardstick of size, that standard of measure is often very deceiving, and does not take into account many other factors by which the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, measures success. God’s word warns to be sure that your sins will (eventually) find you out. The main underlying fault and flaw with authoritarian abuse, as I’ve done everything I possibly could to tell and warn people, both in the pew and the pulpit, about over nearly four decades of ministry, is the subtle sin of self-aggrandizement and self-centeredness. Spiritual abuse is rooted in the sin of self-love, what the Apostle Paul warned about more than two-thousand years ago would be one of the prime causes of end-times apostasy and “perilous times”:

But realize this, that in the last days difficult (“perilous,” KJV) times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also. (2Ti 3:1-9)

Self-aggrandizement, self-love, arrogance, pride, haughtiness, narcissism, causes people to do things and take actions that they are thoroughly convinced God would want them to do—because after all they are very special—that not only are biblically invalid and improper, but oftentimes, eventually, illegal, and the laws of society or the legal system becomes their judge, when, driven by their self-love and forms thereof, they cross the line, and engage in illegal acts. My personal opinion is that the seeds of self-aggrandizement, pride, and arrogance have always been lurking beneath the surface in the heart of Paul David Yonggi Cho, and that those seeds ultimately produced a crop in the form of embezzlement and tax-evasion, for which ostensibly he will now be punished. And I further believe that his sad and unfortunate story is a warning to others in the ministry who have not yet dealt with their own hidden sin of self-aggrandizement and avarice, and that to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time, AND be sure that you cannot fool God ANY of the time! God always knows all! If you have larceny in your heart, and you are stealing from people, and doing either unlawful, immoral, or ungodly acts, be sure that your sins WILL find you out! You will not always get away with what you’ve been getting away with; God knows, and some day, so will everyone else!

When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. (Pro. 11:2)

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. (Pro. 16:18)

There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. (Pro. 6:16-19)

You choose: honor or dishonor.

In fact, I will go on the record here and say that someone who will read this article is being strongly warned by God to come clean, and to do it NOW! You may be a VIP in the arena and circles you function in, but that means nothing to God, and you need to come clean, “confess your faults” to someone who you can trust will do what the rest of that verse says, “pray for (you),” that you will stop what you’ve been doing and hiding it, and do the right thing to end the charade. If you do it on your own that is a form of humbling yourself, and God will forgive you and eventually even exalt you; but if you continue on with the deception, God will arrange circumstances that will reveal your sin and humiliate you. You choose: honor or dishonor. Confide in your best friend, Jesus; then confide in someone you trust. Do it today, before the sun goes down; or if it is already gone down, before it rises again.

It is not my desire or intent with this article to in any way pillory or add to the shame and humiliation Pastor Cho no doubt is already experiencing. This one act, as illegal and punishable under law as it is, should not define or diminish his obviously outstanding and meritorious achievements over six decades of pastoral service, particularly in building a church with over one-million members, and his work with Prayer Mountain, which has been a source of spiritual encouragement and edification to millions, including thousands of ministers who have retreated there for refreshment and refiring over the years. The Lord Himself promises in His Word that Pastor Cho’s labors shall not be forgotten by Him, but that there is an eternal record of them in Heaven. Rather, the purpose of this article is to sound the alarm to others who are right now thinking, erroneously, that their transgressions and betrayals of the trust of those they are supposed to be serving as under-shepherds can be forever hidden. It will, one dark day, be uncovered. Mark it down. God Himself is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of Heaven, and He has a way of devising ways and means for such malfeasance and immoral behavior to be eventually uncovered. You can hang your hat on it. Nevertheless, God is always gracious and merciful, in that, as He states He did with Jezebel (Rev. 2:21), He always gives us “time to repent.” Dr. Cho had twelve years to repent, but didn’t.

The quote from Charismatic Captivation, published in 1996, follows.

This, I believe, is not coincidence, but corroboration that the governmental structure prescribed by the Discipleship/Shepherd­ing teaching, besides being totally incongruous with God’s Word, is patently erroneous.  It is a demonic system of enslavement, domination, and misuse of authority that, as it has been proliferated by its proponents over the years, has wreaked untold havoc and harm over the width and breadth of the Body of Christ that to this day remains largely unabated and unredressed.  The chief consequence of this unscriptural and subversive false teaching is that genuine God‑anointed, God‑appointed governmental authority has been supplanted, and thousands have been spiritually duped and injured.  The record shows that this wave of deception, because of the usurpation and contravention of true authority it promotes, has caused the demise of untold numbers of fraternal relationships, marriages, families, and churches.  (Indeed, after I had been working on this book for several months, more revelations of abuse and injury in churches practicing Shepherding teachings began surfacing in books and magazine articles, which to me was further confirmation both of the extensiveness of these effects as well as the need for such a work as this one.)  For this cause, unrepentant proponents and participants of these heretical doctrines and practices will, in the Day of Judgment, be required to give account to a holy and wrathful God for such misuse and abuse of authority.

Notwithstanding, there are multitudes of believers and vast numbers of groups and churches who continue to subscribe (some overtly, some covertly) to the basic tenets of this devilish deception, which ascribes free‑license to self‑aggrandiz­ing, dominion‑seeking religious dictators to engage in Biblically‑condemned religious hegemony in which they lord themselves over the unaware and unassuming sheep of God’s flock. The pervasive results and impact of this horrendous spiritual travesty, which continues to be perpetrated upon so much of the Body of Christ under the direction of Satan through his human cooperatives, is no less outrageous and should engender no less of a sense of outrage by aware believers than the most egregious and offensive societal blights against which Christians today are so eager to publicly protest and demonstrate their outrage.

The Discipleship/Shepherding chain‑of‑command schematic is an enslaving structure, and make no mistake about it—it is deliberately designed to be enslaving.  I will never forget the shock and outrage I experienced while attending a so‑called “Church Growth Seminar” held in a large church in a central Florida city in either 1977 or 1978 (I cannot recall precisely).  The keynote speaker was the prominent and highly‑regarded pastor of the world’s largest Charismatic church, and the organization he had formed was the primary sponsor of the seminar.  Ostensibly, the thrust of these seminars, which were conducted in various venues in the U.S. and other countries as well, was to share with the attending pastors so‑called “secrets of church growth.”

In the seminars, the pastor would expound upon the “chain‑of‑com­mand” structure he had devised and instituted in his own church (located in an Asian country), plus some of the organizational methods he employed in his church to combat the common and ever‑present problem that occurs in many churches, that of people entering through the front door, only to exit through the back door; that is to say: “attrition.”  These suppos­edly invaluable administrative and structural “revelations and insights” the pastor was touting, attendees were told, were explained more explicitly in a new book he had written and which, fortunately for us all, had just come off the presses in time for this particular seminar.  The title of the book blatantly proclaimed the essence of and attitude behind the structure and methods he was proliferating: “Caught In A Web.“ The premise of the book and the seminar was that attrition would be virtually eliminated, or at the very minimum, drastically reduced, in the church in which these “secrets” for “church growth” were employed, in that once a person had become a member, it would be virtually impossible to thereafter leave the church.  In the vein of the metaphor, once the prey was “caught in the web” it could never get out alive. This was the corrupt and perverted mentality being expressed at these “church growth seminars,” which, to my astonishment and incredulity, was enthusias­tically received by the majority of pastors (primarily, independent Charismatic and Pentecostal denominational pastors) who attended that seminar.

Moreover, those seminars continued to be very popular for a decade or so. But the most disturbing thing about the principles purveyed in those seminars and in that book, which essentially were Discipleship/Shepherding doctrines, in my view, is that they became the paradigm or model for literally hundreds of churches and para-church organizations around the world. The influence of this pastor and these seminars, I believe, gave global credibility to, and were the greatest single vehicle responsible for the proliferation of, these fallacious and demonic teachings and practices.

How illustrative are the concepts comprising the pastor’s presentation regarding the psychological enslavement upon which the Disciple­ship/Shepherding doctrines and methodologies are founded.  As the book title intimates, the Discipleship governmental structure is designed to ensnare members and make it very difficult for them to ever leave the local church. To accomplish this dubious goal, hyper-authoritarian leaders employ, wittingly or unwittingly, a number of psychological techniques commonly used by cult leaders to accomplish essentially the same goals of proliferation and preservation of their and the virtual elimination of attrition.  We will address some of those techniques and how to recognize them in chapter Eleven.  Here, however, we want to continue examining the perverted concepts of authority inherent within these hyper-authoritarian doctrines and practices.

Endnote: (1) The following links are to articles related to the Lakeland Revival and Todd Bentley posted on Spirit Life Magazine:

Florida Wildfires and Lakeland Wildfire

False Unity and the Lakeland Revival Cult (Part 1)

False Unity and the Lakeland Revival Cult (Part 2)

True Unity of the Spirit (Part 3)

WARNING: Bill Johnson and Bethel Church

Source: By Steven Lambert, David Yonngi Cho Found Guilty of Embezzlement and Tax-Evasion, Spirit Life Magazine, http://www.spiritlifemag.com/?p=5568#sthash.2RIDVOy9.KYbvXwp1.dpuf, 25/02/2014. (Accessed 27/02/2013.)

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ChristianToday Reports On The David Yonggi Cho Scandal

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

c3, c3 church, CHC, Cho, Christian City Church, City Harvest Church, David Yonggi Cho, Kong Hee, Phil Pringle, YFGC, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

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.

“A sect leader might violate the commandments and do as he wishes, but a pastor cannot do that,” he said.  “Over the past 14 years, I have met with Rev Cho many times to try to persuade him to repent and return to being a great pastor, but the corruption has continued.  That’s why I had no choice but to disclose it to the outside world.”

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.)

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Operation Wolf Pack: David Yonggi Cho Damage Control

03 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in C3 & Pringles Associations

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bob Rodgers, c3 church, c3 college, Charisma Mag, Charisma Magazine, David Yonggi Cho, duplantis, jesse duplantis, Kong Hee, Phil Pringle, Rodgers, Spirit Life, Spirit Life Magazine, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

INTRO

When C3 Church Watch began covering the scandal surrounding one of the biggest names on the circuit for decades, we were not certain of the outcome. For the man who added buddhism to old-style pentecostalism to be sentenced for three years in prison for tax evasion is only a qualified success. However, it is interesting to note that Al Capone who was guilty of many crimes, was also convicted of tax evasion.

Of course, defenders of Yonggi Cho would want to come out and seek to explain away the sins of the man who introduced such heresy into the Christian church. Bob Rodgers has now jumped to defend the integrity of David Yonggi Cho. It is inevitable to wonder if Rodgers is primarily thinking about his wallet.

As this is a rather long article,

1. C3 Church Watch will offer our critique of Bob Rodgers’ defense of the David Yonggi Cho scandal;

2. examine what has been said of Bob Rodgers’ ministry, behaviour and teaching;

3. look at what Steven Lambert says on Spirit Life Magazine about Bob Rodgers’ article on Charisma Mag;

4. and publish Bob Rodgers’ piece.

CRITIQUE ON BOB RODGERS DEFENSE OF YONGGI CHO

We’ve said it before and we will say it again: wolves support wolves.

Fraudulent ministers stand arm in arm together when their ‘friends’ are rightly exposed of fraudulent behaviour. When a wolf comes under fire, the pack starts the typical scripture-twisting,  truth-spinning and sin-justifying.

A good example of someone who has recently done something like this is ‘Pastor’ Bob Rodgers who recently wrote into Charisma Magazine defending the Word of Faith heretic David Yonggi Cho.

It is clear Bob Rodgers has a conflict of interest and has is own image and reputation to defend with his association David Yonggi Cho since he holds a presidential status on David Yonggi Cho’s Church Growth International board. Bob Rodgers of Charisma Magazine openly stated,

“David Yonggi Cho, pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, has been a personal friend of our family for more than 40 years. He has stayed in our home, and my father and I have served on his church growth board for a combined 38 years. Presently, I serve as president of Church Growth International of the Americas.”

Already, Rodgers has rejected the authority of scripture and has embraced the false teacher David Yonggi Cho into his house (literally),

“Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.” 2 John 1:8-11

We can already dismiss what Bob Rodgers has to say because of his rejection of scriptures. Furthermore, if Bob Rodgers cannot see the simple fact that his friend David Yonggi Cho is a spiritual fraud parading good works to con Christianity, then how can Bob even begin to defend someone who is convicted of felony?

And what are the chances of Bob Rodgers being a false teacher? Would it surprise you that a false teacher would support a false teacher?

Bob Rodgers also made the comment that David Yonggi Cho “lives a simple life in a 1,000-square-foot church apartment. Neither does he own a car”. Well then why did Kong Hee testify that his mentor met him in a limousine? Was that the church’s limousine? Is that Cho living “a simple life” using church luxuries?

Furthermore, Rodgers’ story evades the elder controversy. If Yonggi Cho was naive and innocent, then why were elders expelled from his church? Why did he malign them and their criticisms? What was he trying to oppress them of saying? Does this sound like the behaviour of someone who is innocent? Couldn’t David Yonggi Cho repent behind closed doors to these elders? Couldn’t the leadership in the church work at fixing up the issues biblically then deal with the problems appropriately out in public?

On top of this, Bob Rodgers also ignored other allegations made about Cho’s wife. Rodgers also gave us insight to the family life of Yonggi Cho. Doesn’t Rodgers see the unbiblical behaviour of Cho’s family? Why is the eldest son still in church leadership? Is not this nepotism? A conflict of interest?

Rodgers also reported that the judge said that Cho, “… never took the lead in any of the crimes, including tax evasion, committed on the suggestion of the accounting firm“.

But Yonggi Cho was found guilty right? Not the accounting firm? Are we reading this right Bob?

As you can see, there are some serious issues in “setting the record straight”.

BOB RODGERS’ MINISTRY AND HISTORY

It appears this is not the first time Rodgers has failed in discerning frauds (We will publish this articles links in the comment section below):

Phony Preacher Ernest Cadick faces trial for fraud

This man stole from the flock of God. He had been endorsed by one of the most leading and prominent preachers/pastors in Louisville — Bob Rodgers of Evangel World Prayer Center. I’m not saying that Rodgers knew of the deceit. More than likely, he did not. As he was just one of many pastors a few years back – having no discernment –  who endorsed the likes of Tod Bently.

More on this fleecing can be found here: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110612/NEWS01/306120091

http://www.arcamax.com/religionandspirituality/religiousnews/s-904597

Now to those who would love to quote the scripture “love covers a multitude of sin,” I will say to you: You are a wolf if you think we are to keep these things covered up. Where was Bob Rogers and other preachers like him, when this man was allowed to come in a steal from the very ones God entrusted them with? Why did they not — from the pulpit – stand up and warn the sheep of this crook?

A lot of people had their life savings stolen from them. Yet, I will say the root to this is greed. The Word/Faith doctrine appeals to greed. Give to me and God will bless you.

Cadick used fear to manipulate people into handing over their money. Their greed, their desires to have their ears tickled led them straight to a lying thief.

Rogers said he is not “taking up for him one bit.” But he said, “In Ernie’s eyes I don’t think he felt like he was taking advantage of anyone.”

Sorry pastor Rogers, that just does not ring true to me. One has to ask what you gain by not coming out strongly against what this man did. Sounds like Rogers has more in common with wolves than he does with sheep.

Source: Mark, Phony Preacher Ernest Cadick faces trial for fraud, Redeemed Hippies’ Place, http://redeemedhippiesplace.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/phony-preacher-ernest-cadick-faces-trial-for-fraud/, 02/09/2013 at 6:58:54 ASD.

A commentor also stated:

“I don’t know if you are aware of this or not, but, Bob Rogers also sold shares of stock or ownership in oil wells in the late 80′s utilizing scripture throughout the Bible to promote the selling of this stock. He solicited promises from God to make his point and lure people to purchase these shares. Nobody was ever made aware of what became of the stock or investigated to see if Bob Rogers made a significant gain from those who purchased in these oil wells. It wasn’t to long after this transaction took place that Bob started TV 21 which was supposed to be a Christian television station and now is no different than many of the other local stations. I am sure the station is valued at a lot of money though and Bob is living well. I would just like to know did he mislead people when he sold these oil well stocks also and did he use the finds to begin a television station and if this is the case shouldn’t those who invested in oil wells that never truly existed be owners of a television station which does? Just for thought.”

Source: Mark, Phony Preacher Ernest Cadick faces trial for fraud, Redeemed Hippies’ Place, http://redeemedhippiesplace.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/phony-preacher-ernest-cadick-faces-trial-for-fraud/, 02/09/2013 at 6:58:54 ASD.

Another witness has described Bob Rodgers ministry of being very Word of Faith. They say he endorses some of the worst spiritual scam artists like Mike Murdock and Jesse Duplantis.

I use to attend Evangel World Prayer Center, where Bob Rodgers was pastor. He’s a big WOF guy. Brings in the Mike Murdocks, Jesse Duplantis’, etc on a regular basis.

Source: So Thankful, info on some pastors on Daystar (Bob Rodgers and Gary & Drenda Keesee and Robert Morris and…, Rapture Ready, http://rr-bb.com/showthread.php?155430-info-on-some-pastors-on-Daystar-(Bob-Rodgers-and-Gary-amp-Drenda-Keesee-and-Robert-Morris-and, Published February 19th, 2011, 03:55 AM. (Accessed 02/03/2014.)

Jesse Duplantis should sound familiar to our readers. Phil Pringle had this Word of Faith heretic influence his Bible College Students.

SPIRIT LIFE MAGAZINE REVIEW OF BOB RODGER’S ‘RECORD’

Steven Lambert from Spirit Life Magazine also had this to say about Bob Rodgers’ article,

[Editor’s note: In an article posted on Charisma Magazine at 1:30 PM, 25 hours after its original posting reporting David Yonggi Cho’s being found guilty of embezzlement and tax-evasion charges, Charisma Magazine then posted the following article by a pastor claiming to have been present at the trial and being a longtime close friend and adviser to Cho.

Bob Rodgers’ article reports details of the sentencing as well as the facts of the case that conflict with Charisma’s original article by Jennifer Leclaire, and places the blame for the embezzlement of church funds and tax-evasion scheme squarely on Cho’s eldest son and some treacherous church elders who essentially duped the elder Cho into signing some papers without comprehending their contents or import that were the paperwork for a $12-Million fraudulent stock scheme using church monies. Spirit Life Magazine has been unable at the time of this posting to independently verify any of Bob Rodgers’ version of the story, but will report them if and when we are able to do so. In the meantime, Rodgers’ version of the facts in the case, in our view, even if true, do not change much the thrust of the cautionary tale represented in the matter and the matters we wrote about in our article.

Those issues remain unchanged. Moreover, Rodgers’ article only brings up another whole set of issues relative to other character, heart, spiritual, fathering, and leadership questions and issues on the part of Pastor Cho. “To whom much is given, much is required,” “Let not many of you become teachers (church leaders) for in such you incur a stricter judgment,” and are two admonitions from Scripture that come to mind, along with another that says that an overseer “must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?) [1 Tim. 3:4-5].

One is also reminded of the fathering failure of Eli, the High Priest, and how his sons misused their priestly power to rape and mistreat women and to engage in a form of embezzlement and extortion. It seems evident that the “iniquity (perversion) of the father” produced a harvest of evil crop that manifested in his corrupt adult sons. God punished them all, including Eli himself, with untimely death for their wickedness.

When one has been vaunted and almost beatified as “the world’s greatest pastor,” based primarily on the fact that the church he leads has the most members of any church in the world, unfortunately, such claims to “greatness” and de facto apotheosis only subject (unfairly and unreasonably) the principal to greater scrutiny, higher standards of conduct and spirituality, and expectations from others. Regardless, having posted our original article concerning the matter, we felt obliged in all fairness to post Bob Rodgers’ article published by Charisma Magazine as well.

However, over the years of scandal after scandal emerging out of the Pentecostal/Charismatic realm, most inveterate observers can almost predict in advance that whenever an exalted leader is involved in some scandal that becomes news, some close friend or sycophant of the principal will write some article refuting all the allegations and insist it was all a misunderstanding or someone’s vendetta or a kangaroo trial and miscarriage of justice, and their good-ole boy friend is really the reincarnation of St. Francis of Assisi. We’re all pretty much used to that by now, and so Mr. Rodgers’ claims that it’s all just a big mistake and it’s really just another wonderful day in the neighborhood, doesn’t hold much water with us at this point.

Regardless of the details, where there’s smoke, there’s usually some sort of fire somewhere, which means there’s some sort of wrong doing here somewhere, wherever and whatever it might be. While it may often be true that, as the saying goes, “the devil’s in the details,” sometimes in matters of the Kingdom God’s adjudication and judgment is in a matter in which the details are muddled, unclear, or not as reported. We think this is one of those cases.]

Source: By Steven Lambert, David Yonngi Cho Case, Post Facto, Spirit Life Magazine, http://www.spiritlifemag.com/?p=5582#sthash.nuJdwYLd.dpuf, Posted 25/02/2014. (Accessed 26/02/2014.)

Bob Rodgers wrote the following on Charisma Magazine,

Setting the Record Straight on David Yonggi Cho

David Yonggi Cho, pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea, has been a personal friend of our family for more than 40 years. He has stayed in our home, and my father and I have served on his church growth board for a combined 38 years. Presently, I serve as president of Church Growth International of the Americas.

Because of the slant of some of the media reports, it is important certain details of the situation be made known. Not only was I present in Seoul during much of the trial, but there was also information disclosed during closed-door meetings which has not yet been made public. I want to share some of this as follows.

First, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Cho, 78, to a three-year prison term suspended for five years. He had been indicted for allegedly causing financial losses worth more than $12 million. He was also fined $5 million. He will not have to serve prison time, but he is on probation.

Second, Cho’s son, Cho Hee-Jun, 49, was indicted for the same charges. Because he was considered a flight risk, he was immediately taken into custody following a court order after being sentenced to three years in prison.

Cho has three sons. The second and third sons are very productive and work in church-related ministries. His eldest son has been the prodigal. He has been married four times and has been involved in sexual scandals with national personalities. In addition, he has served prison time for investment scams and embezzlement. His scandalized life has been an embarrassment to his family and the church.

Twelve years ago, this son purposely defrauded the church in excess of $12 million in a stock-related scheme. Cho testified that he trusted his elders and son and didn’t check and read the thousands of pages of paperwork, which was prepared for him to sign. Because Cho relied upon the direction of his choice elders and son, he signed the papers. He never received any monies from the transaction.

Third, the presiding judge said, “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.”

The court also considered Cho’s life journey as a religious leader and his long-term contribution to social welfare as mitigating circumstances on his behalf. The court ruled that his son, Cho Hee-Jun, was the instigator of the crime related to the purchase of the shares of 1-Service stock.

Even though Cho established the world’s largest church, with more than 1 million members, he lives a simple life in a 1,000-square-foot church apartment. Neither does he own a car. Cho has raised and given personally to the church more than $170 million.

Dr. Bob Rodgers Sr. is pastor of Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville, Ky.

Source: By Bob Rodgers, Setting the Record Straight on David Yonggi Cho, Charisma Magazine, http://www.charismamag.com/life/culture/19861-setting-the-record-straight-on-david-yonggi-cho, 1:30PM EST 25/02/2014 BOB RODGERS(Accessed 26/02/2014.)

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Charisma Covering Cho’s Woes

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Nailed Truth in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Charisma, Charisma Mag, Charisma Magazine, Jeniffer Leclaire, yoido full gospel church, yonggi cho

Charisma news reports,

Pastor David Yonggi Cho Sentenced to 3 Years for Embezzling $12 Million

Pastor David Yonggi Cho, 78, founder of the world’s largest Pentecostal church, was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $12 million in church monies.

Cho birthed the Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, which is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, in 1958. The church has more than 1 million members, making it the largest congregation in the world.

Cho was convicted last week of embezzlement for having officials buy stocks his eldest son, Cho Hee-jun, owned in 2002. His officials bought 250,000 shares of the stock at four times the market value, according to news reports.

Cho has to pay about $4.6 million in fines as part of the case. His son was also sentenced to three years in prison.

The Yonhap News Agency reported that the judge believes Cho should be severely punished for committing breach of trust, especially for a person of his status in society, but gave a light sentence for tax evasion because of Cho’s positive contributions to society.

Source: By Jennifer Leclaire, Pastor David Yonggi Cho Sentenced to 3 Years for Embezzling $12 Million, Charisma News, http://www.charismanews.com/world/42903-pastor-david-yonggi-cho-sentenced-to-3-years-for-embezzling-12-million, Published 2:30PM EST 24/02/2014. (Accessed 27/02/2014.)

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