These pics below are from the first sermon that I decided to watch of Pastor Rod Parsley. Rod, you should just go ahead and introduce yourself like this: “Hello, my name is Rod Parsley, and I am a Fruit Loop.” I need to update this sticker to read …I am a Fruit Oops.
Okay, from looking at Pastor Parsley’s family chart, I was able to get information that I needed on the King of Scotland and also the Plantagenet connection to the Prophet Muhammad, which may not mean anything to anyone else but it means a lot to me.
Short clip by Tamara Magdalene aka “Satan’s Butt Kicker”, showing a few other pastors throwing up the same hand sign as pastor Rod Parsley.
Short clips from two different videos of Pastor Parsley. The first clip Parsley is tossing the bible into the air behind him; and the second part he’s tearing out the pages and then acting goofy with sissy hand signs. Whatever his reasoning is it’s still no excuse.
I received a comment or as I label them a “Nasty Gram”, in which I am corrected and told that I’m crazy and I usually get these from the Illuminati Clans. I generally take these messages as a sign that this is allowed from the Lord and that I need to look at the particular (Illuminati bloodline) person further and so I have. On September 20, 2020, the day that I started to study Pastor Parsley, I felt the Holy Spirit around me and I took that as my signal that I needed to study him.
This post is not to humiliate this comment person, but to explain the Illuminati high royal bloodline connections that I’ve found. Let’s look at the message and go from there.
Video clip by Tamara Magdalene of “Pastor” Perry Stone is speaking in tongues while reading his text messages. Tamara, this one is for you:
Pastor Perry Stone is the great grandson of Edward I. King of England and also the great grandson of King Cyanna Tryffin of Dyfed
Video below by Honest News Network: “ROD PARSLEY AND DAUGHTER ASHTON EXPOSED ANTICHRIST, WITCHCRAFT, APOSTOLIC, PREACHING…” the video is a little long so I just want to show a few pics from the video then a short video exposing this prophetess Juanita Bynum.
This is a short 2 part video; 1st part shows Juanita the prophetess seen in the pics above, is going to blow into a gigantic ram horn also known as a Shofar. The guy recording her is holding back his laughter I’m guessing at how ridiculous she looks. The 2nd part of this clip by Exposing Charlatans, Juanita is instructing a training class to go out and buy pens worth 5k to prove their worth to the world.
Now a great catch video by Honest News Network…”ROD PARSLEY AND DAUGHTER ASHTON EXPOSED ANTICHRIST, WITCHCRAFT, APOSTOLIC, PREACHING ANOTHER JESUS” A big thank you to Honest News Network who is a great Watchman for the Lord.
This under 3 min. clip is from the video called: “Rod Parsley – Sow your seed of $54.17” I would recommend to stop giving all of these televangelist/television preachers money because you’re only helping their sickness of greed. I fell for this when I was a baby Christian so now I just want to stomp them. I would pray for them but it’s hopeless.
I think I can somewhat relate to how this comment person reacts because I’ve been there. In the past when I was still partly Catholic, a friend once tried to expose the Pope to me and I defended the Pope because I was unaware of the truth. Now along with many others, I’m against him.
This is a about a 3 min. audio clip of some God Dissers. It will start with Victoria Osteen, next Pope Francis and lastly Pastor Parsley’s good buddy, Pastor Kenneth Copeland.
To all of you who thought that church was boring you haven’t been paying attention to certain preachers because they’ve lost their minds or GOD has given them over to a reprobate mind.
In this video clip caught by Tamara Magdalene called: “Kenneth Copeland did WHAT?!!” You will see this absolute fruit loop drink blood in church. I would like to thank Tamara for this very good catch of this reptilian fruit loop.
Different video clip showing Kenneth Copeland anointing Pastor Rod Parsley. I think it’s a big mistake letting Kenneth Copeland pray over anybody.
Kenneth Copeland, the worlds most annoying preacher, is the 27th great grandchild of Henry II King of England.
Henry II King of England parents:
Father: Geoffrey V. Plantagenet Comte d’Anjou, a very occult bloodline; and
Mother: Matilda of England Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. Matilda of England was the daughter of: Henry I, King of England and Matilda of Scotland.
Henry I, King of England was the son of: William the Conqueror, King of England
Matilda of Scotland was the daughter of: Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scotland. All of the kings of Scotland descend from the bloodlines of the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Video by Tamara Magdalene: “False Preachers…And Their Best Friend The AntiChrist” It’s a very interesting video because 1) Kenneth Copeland uses a red carpet rug when he exits his personal jet. A red carpet like the royals use. Also, a prophecy from Kim Clement about Donald Trump whose real name is Drumpf and also Bill Gates – both are Fruit Loops.
In this short theatrical clip, Illuminati high royal bloodline, Kenneth Copeland, the grandson of a king (many kings), will bless another Illuminati high royal bloodline, Rod Parsley, who is also the grandson of a king or should I say many kings.
A short under 2 min clip of more antics with psychotic pastors including Kenneth Copeland. “Summary. Psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations.”
In this 4 min. video clip with the TBN founders, Paul and Jan Crouch are discussing with Kenneth Copeland and his 3rd wife Gloria that “they are Gods” because the Illuminati is hell bent on promoting heresy; and then the last part of the clip is from something like “This is Your Life Kenneth Copeland” just to show you his beginnings. You would probably never believe that this semi cute kid Kenneth would grow up to say that “God was the biggest failure” because after all, Kenneth Copeland is the Biggest Loser. His theme song: “I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you (fill in the blank) me.” The film may be old but it still looks like Kenneth Copeland is having a hologram failure.
I would like to add that the first part of this clip was put together by Jackie Almor. She’s been working for our Lord a long time but I’m new to her channel. I love her work. She’s a true fighter for the Lord and I’m so grateful for her and her mission to help others by exposing these false Christians. We need you Jackie Almor!!
Let go back and take a look at the founders of Trinity Broadcast Network’s Paul and Jan Crouch aka Cash Cows.
Paul Crouch, the founder of Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) was the great grandson of many kings and here are a few: Charles I “The Bald” Carolingian dynasty and who was the king of West Francia, Nuestria and Lorraine; King of Italy, and the Holy Roman Emperor. Also, William the Conqueror the Illegitimate king, and William Brewster. Here’s a clip about Brewster: “As the Pilgrims made their way to America on the Mayflower in 1620, William Brewster served as a leader instrumental in establishing Plymouth Colony’s government and church services. In fact, were it not for William Brewster, the Pilgrims may not have even made the trip in the first place.” This Brewster connection would make Paul Crouch a relative to Ashley Judd.
Not to be outdone, Paul Crouch’s wife Jan Bethany was the 19th great grandchild of Edward III Plantagenet King of England
Video clip by Tamara Magdalene, aka Satan’s Butt Kicker: “”Trisha Pates, the Jan Crouch Clone is Malfunctioning” ”
Video clip from Jackie Alnor about TBN. This interview is with the Crouch’s granddaughter and she was assaulted at 13 yrs. old by an employee of TBN and then she was banished from their TV kingdom.
Let’s get back to the Parsley Clan and don’t worry they’re just as interesting. In this 7 min. video clip of: “Rod Parsley zip-lining in church” Rod Parsley and his daughter are both Illuminati high royal bloodlines and this is just trashy psychotic behavior in a church. This video clip was put together by Parsley’s church. They’re so oblivious they were proud of this moment.
Short video clip of “Jerry Lewis – The Bell Boy.” Jerry Lewis looks like Rod Parsley with all the theatrical and distracting show Parsley does while on the church stage.
Short clip with Ashton promoting the Christ Mass holiday that the Bible book of Jeremiah says NOT to participate in. Please see the Christ Mass post for more info if you’re interested.
Short clip by Ian Paisley talking about King Yeshua/Jesus and the money changers in the temple.
More weird ghoulish looking fingers.
Ashton, I don’t want you to feel like you’re the only one who can pull off preaching and wearing spiked heels, here’s TD Jakes daughter doing the same thing.
Party All The Time song…
Looks like Ashton has sold enough t-shirts to afford a Rolex so a big woo-woo for her Church Merch store. Someday you’ll give an account before the Lord and it will be the real pay day for you. There’s lots of “pastors” in Hell begging to get out and saying that they’re sorry for stealing money from the church.
In this short video clip below, Ashton is talking about buying shoes for herself and once in awhile a pair of very overpriced Kanye West shoes for her father, pastor Parsley. Ashton is starting to sound a little like pastor Jesse Duplantis who also never misses a chance to boast about his luxury items. I’m embarrassed for all of them.
Video by DrewBloom34: “Exposed: Pastor John Gray & his $4,000 Yeezy Shoes” It’s not okay when Joel Osteen’s former associate pastor bought Kanye West shoes and it’s certainly not okay for “pastors” Ashton and Rod Parsley to wear them either. Big thank you to Drew Bloom34 for always exposing the false fake Christians.
This is an under 2 min. clip from a scene from the movie: “Paper Moon” It called the fast change scene.
This is how I see anyone who is calling themselves a Christian and shaking down the people for money, prosperity pastors, YouTube Christians with PayPal (Papal), Cash App and Patreon accounts and also selling church merch (merchandise) remind me of.
I don’t ever recall King Yeshua after he healed the sick or fed the crowd say something like: Hey everyone, okay you can see I’ve healed the sick and I’ve fed this entire crowd, so now I need you to dig deep into your whatever they used to carry money in, and give generously because I’m the real deal.
I think it’s so awful to expect people to drop money in the stupid “offering” plate. Poor people sometimes don’t even have proper shoes or clothes to wear to church much less a dollar for the “offering” plate. The ones that need the Lord the most can’t even afford to walk in the door. Heavenly Father in the name of King Yeshua your Will be done with all of the ones pressuring the flock to give money by saying its mandated by you to receive your blessing.
This clip below is under 3 min. This is Pastor Rod Parsley taking the peoples eyes off of the Blood of King Yeshua and onto their Federal Reserve notes to rescue them from all of their problems.
7 min video clip of Parsley promoting this fake doctrine of tithing. This is just one of the many unbelievably and despicable money shake down deals by pastor Parsley.
Video by MotivatingU2Win: “TITHING PART 1 – Ten Reasons Pastors Will Not Stop Teaching this FALSE DOCTRINE” She explains that God is going to send each and every pastor to Hell for promoting this false doctrine of tithing.
MotivatingU2Win – I love, love, love your teachings exposing the False Doctrines of Tithing. No one can surpass the work you’ve done exposing this and hopefully it will help many people to come out of this delusion.
This is a short 3 min clip from the Aaron Russo movie “Freedom to Fascism” where he shows how the people are unknowingly taken advantage of and overtaxed. This is how I see all prosperity pastors. In the end of this clip you will see a guy with a vacuum cleaner and this reminds me of all prosperity pastors including “pastor” Rod Parsley.
Royals song by Lorde is dedicated to the Parsley Clan I mean the “First Family”
A little over 2 min. video clip from Rod Parsley’s church and they’re referenced as the “First Family” and in the beginning of the video the daughter Ashton referenced herself as the “First Daughter.” I’m only adding this because most of the prosperity American pastors have lost their minds and lately have given themselves grand titles. It’s very concerning.
This is about a 1 min clip from MotivationU2Win where sister Sharon is talking about pastors who give themselves titles. It’s sad because not only are they shaking the people down for money, but they’re acting like they have more value than the church members or visitors. It’s a dangerous road to be taking money under the name and free gift from King Yeshua/Jesus.
“Gold Digger” by Kanye West, the overpriced Shoe King.
About a 8 min. shocking but very great catch video by Jackie Almor: “Rod Parsley, a chip off his mom Ellen Parley’s block” This is the most damnable video of Ellen Parsley that you will ever see.
This is a 1 min. video clip of Rod Parsley’s discovery that he was called to be a preacher. Since Rod is an Illuminati high royal bloodline it’s important to see that most of the Illuminati royal bloodlines do become preachers and have tax exempt churches and live like kings.
Without putting all the news clip info on here I will mention that Kim K. mentioned that Kanye was working on getting his 501C3 tax exempt church something going. Kim K.’s mom Kris Houghton Jenner Kardashian, at one time also ran church in a hotel with very, very high requests for tithing donations. If I remember I believe she or her church group were asking for 1k from everyone. Hilarious. Mel Gibson also has a small empty Catholic church. I reporter tried to do a story on the church and a family member of Mel who looked like a son clone of Mel asked him to leave. Jimmy Carter and his spouse also have I believe 8 churches. You do the math people. You can figure this out right?
Part 1 of a short clip from a video by Jackie Almor from her video: “The Great Apostasy: The Lost Sign Pt. 2”
Part 2 of a short clip from a video by Jackie Almor from her video: “The Great Apostasy: The Lost Sign Pt. 2”
This is a short clip about the child preacher Marjoe Gortner talking about how his mom would abuse him when she would get frustrated when he as a child he couldn’t keep up with the demands of preaching.
Under 3 min clip and only part of the video by Tamara Magdalene: “Sanpaku Eyes” aka Bette Davis Eyes. My neighbor has these weird eyes and though he’s seemed really nice the first time I was around him, I never stopped wondering if he was a reptilian or something.
This 23 min. video by Truthful Spirit Blue Heron: Bette Davis (L)Eyes – Transvestigation (part I.) Let me just add this before the video clip on Bette Davis on being the great grandchild of many kings but I picked this one because Bette connects to Marjoe’s mom with the weird eyeballs.
Also, here are just a few of many kings in Bette Davis bloodline: Robert I King of France, Alfred the Great King of the Anglo-Saxons, Charlemagne King of the Frank, Henry VIII King of England
This is about a 3 min, video by Truthful Spirit Blue Heron: Bette Davis (L)Eyes – Transvestigation (part II.) I found this vid by Truthful Spirit Blue Heron over on: https://www.altcensored.com/watch?v=eyxQanLHsw4 and she does excellent work.
Video by Doreen Virtue: “Rod Parsley & Steve Furtick – Former TV Director explains why she quit” This is a 36 min. video. Let me first show you a couple of very short clips by Tamara Magdalene (Tamara, Great job for Jesus) of a pastor who performs with pastor parsley.
and one more
This is a short clip of “pastor” TD Jakes, a multi-millionaire pastor, saying this about his wife: “Stand up honey. Show them I did good. You the finest grandma I ever saw in my life. She can still twerk for the Lord”
TD Jakes getting the “vaccine” instead of choosing and promoting God’s herbs because he prefers synthetic chemicals because his true colors show that he loves the world. Gino Jennings also got the vax and Jennings never misses an opportunity to mock King Yeshua. I’ll be so happy to see the day TD Jakes and Gino Jennings collapse because the vaccine is designed to annihilate their immune system. TD Jakes, you are such a classless act fruit oops clown.
This is a very short clip picked up by Tamara Magdalene called: “The Cringe of the Day.” I think that TD Jakes, which I will now call “TD Hot Tamale Jakes”, I think that his handlers are moving him towards a new uncharted territory (places not yet explored), as a Love Pastor, woo woo!. He’ll be taking Biden’s old spot of a very unattractive man thinking that he’s hot.
Video by Doreen Virtue: “Rod Parsley & Steve Furtick – Former TV Director explains why she quit” This is a 36 min. video. This video is more proof of what be going on at Rod Parsley’s church.
Both of Pastor Rod Parsley’s parents are Illuminati high royal bloodlines. Let’s first start off with pastor Parsley’s father’s bloodline.
Rodney Lee PARSLEY b. JAN 13 1957 Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Father: James G. PARSLEY b. 1 JULY 1932 Martin County, Kentucky
Mother: Ellen E. ENDICOTT b. 7 MARCH 1935 Martin County, Kentucky
Grandfather: Allen J. PARSLEY b. Feb 28 1898 Kentucky
Grandmother: Molly MILLER b. 1904 West Virginia
1x Grandfather: John Wesley PARSLEY b. Sept 1868 Rich Creek, Hardy Twp., Logan County, West Virginia
1x Grandmother Drusilla CALHOUN b. 8 Feb 1872 Hindman, Knott, Kentucky
2x Grandfather: Alexander PARSLEY b. 1838 Wayne County, West Virginia
2x Grandmother: Pricey BALL b. 20 May 1844 Pike County, Kentucky
3x Grandfather: John PARSLEY b. 1815 Virginia
3x Grandmother: Gemima Farrel MURPHY b. 1816 Virginia
4x Grandfather: John Herndon MURPHY Sr. b. 1794 Casewell, North Carolina
4x Grandmother: Rebecca Jane Jennie FERRELL b. 1797 Virginia
5x Grandfather: Gabriel MURPHY Jr b. 1759 JAN Caroline, Virginia
5x Grandmother: Nancy Clarissa HERNDON b. 1772 Caswell, North Carolina
6x Grandfather: David HERNDON b. 1746 Caroline, Virginia
6x Grandmother: Frances PIERCE b. 1742 Caroline, Virginia
7x Grandfather: Richard HERNDON b. 1708 St. Stephens Parish, King and Queen, Virginia
7x Grandmother: Sarah Lucy POE b. 1710 Orange County, North Carolina
8x Grandfather: Edward HERNDON b. 1678 New Kent, Virginia, British Colonial America
8x Grandmother: Mary Elizabeth WALLER b. 23 MAY 1674 Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England
9x Grandfather: William HERNDON b. 1649 Tenterden, Kent, England
9x Grandmother: Catherine Ann DIGGES b. 1654 Yorktown, York, Virginia, British Colonial America
10x Grandfather: Sir Edward DIGGES, Colonial Governor of Virginia b. 29 MARCH 1621 Chilham Castle, Kent, England. Through Edward DIGGES mother or maternal bloodline, he was the great grandson of all of these listed here: King Edward I of England, King Henry III of England, 13 of the Magna Carta Surety group, King Louis VI of France, King Robert I of France, King Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor. This would also mean that Rod Parsley is also the great grandson to all of the “royal” titles listed in this section.
10x Grandmother: Elizabeth PAGE b. 1628 Appledore, Kent, England
These two are cousins and they also connect through the NEVILLE bloodline. I’ll be continuing with Elizabeth PAGE’s bloodline chart just because it’s gets to the royal bloodline quicker.
11x Grandfather: Francis William Thomas PAGE b. 17 OCT 1593 Bedfont, Middlesex, England
11x Grandmother: Isabel WYATT b. 17 OCT 1593 Bedfont, Middlesex, England Sometimes certain names catch my attention and I already know or at least think that I know that when I see a name like Wyatt there will be a royal connection. The Wyatt name connects to Michelle Obama and there a little bit more info on Michelle’s Illuminati High Royal Bloodline page.
12x Grandfather: George WYATT b. 1550 Allington Castle, Kent, England
12x Grandmother: Jane FINCH b. 1555 Kent, England
13x Grandfather: Sir Thomas WYATT b. 1522 Allington Castle, Kent, England
13x Grandmother: Lady Jane Haute B. 1522 Bishopshourne, Kent, England
14x Grandfather: Sir Thomas WYATT b. 1503 Allington Castle, Maidstone, Kent, England
14x Grandmother: Lady Elizabeth BROOKE b. 1503 Cobham Hall, Kent, England
15x Grandfather: Thomas BROOKE, 8th Lord Cobham b. 1465 Cobham Hall, Kent, England
15x Grandmother: Dorothy HEYDON b. 1465 Baconthorpe, Norfolk, England Let me add here that Dorothy Heydon’s mother was Anne Elizabeth BOLEYN and Sir Henry Baron of Baconsthorpe Heydon, and through this bloodline, Dorothy was the great grandchild of Alexander II King of Scotland. All of the kings of Scotland’s bloodlines connect to the Kings Pharaohs of Egypt. That is rock solid and there are no ifs ands or buts to prove any different that the Scottish kings are from the Egyptian Pharaoh bloodlines.
16x Grandfather: Sir John BROOKE b. 10 DEC 1447 Cobham Hall, Cowling, Kent, England
16x Grandmother: Margaret de NEVILLE b. 1455 Raby Castle, Durham, England
17x Grandfather: Sir Edward de NEVILLE 1st Lord and Baron Abergavenny b. 16 SEPT 1412 Raby Castle, Durham, England
17x Grandmother: Catherine HOWARD b. 1414 King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. Through Catherine HOWARD’s mother or maternal bloodline, she was the great grandchild of Henry III King of England and Eleonore de Provence, Queen consort of England. Her bloodline connects to many more kings like the king of France, Spain, Belgium and since they all intermarried I’m sure more. The Spain bloodline married into the French Plantagenets and that bloodline goes back to Muhammad and back to Ishmael.
18x Grandfather: Sir Ralph de NEVILLE 1st Earl of Westmorland Neville b. 1364 Raby Castle, Durham, England
18x Grandmother: Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland b. 29 JAN 1379 Kettlethorpe, Lincolnshire, England
19x Grandfather: John de Gaunt 1st Duke of Lancaster, 1st Earl of Richmond, and House of Plantagenet b. 6 MARCH 1340
St. Bavon’s Abbey, Ghent, Belgium
19x Grandmother: Katherine Swynford de Roet Duchess of Lancaster b. 25 NOV 1350 Conte’ de Hainaut, Belgium
20x Grandfather: Edward III Plantagenet, King of England b. 1312 Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England
20x Grandmother: Phillippa de Hainault Queen Regent of England de Avesnes b. 1311. Phillippa de Hainault was the grandchild of Marguerite d’Anjou b. 1272 from the House of Anjou or in English, a very occult family.
Rene Anjou was a great grandchild of Marguerite d’Anjou and here is some occult info on the House of Anjou on this site: https://mindcontrolblackassassins.com/?s=anjou
There is more info here on Unhivedmin.com anjou It’s such a can of worms I don’t really plan to go into this never ending bottomless pit on the Anjou, DeVere and Medici bloodlines.
“Rene was the son of Princess Yolande of Aragon (1384-1442 AD), who was the primary proponent and patron of Saint Joan of Arc, who was a hereditary Templar Countess of Anjou. Yolande was the daughter of King John I of Aragon Spain, where many of the Knights Templar had survived the French persecution from 1307 AD. As a result, many later Templar descendants thrived as an underground network in Southern France, under the dynastic support of the Templar House of Anjou” This is quoted all over.
Now let’s start with Pastor Parsley’s mother’s bloodline info.
Rodney Lee PARSLEY b. JAN 13 1957 Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Father: James G. PARSLEY b. 1 July 1932 Martin County, Kentucky
Mother: Ellen ENDICOTT b. 7 March 1935 Martin County, Kentucky
These are the parents of the mother of Rod Parsley. Both of them are Illuminati high royal bloodlines.
Grandfather: Samuel ENDICOTT b. 28 MAY 1900 Big Elk, Martin County, Kentucky
Through Samuel ENDICOTT’s bloodline he was a great grandchild of King Henry III Plantagenet and through this Plantagenet bloodline, this connects to Muhammad and then to Ishmael. ENDICOTT was the great grandchild of Alexander II King of Scotland
This chart below will be Rod Parsley’s mother’s maternal bloodline so let’s go.
Grandmother: Eva PACK b. 1912 b. West Virginia
1x Grandfather: Charley PACK b. 1888 Martin, Kentucky
1x Grandmother: Electra Jane GILLESPIE b. 2 Sept 1891 Wayne County, West Virginia
“Gillespie is an Irish and Scottish last name, coming from the Gaelic Mac giolla Easpuig, which means “son of the bishop’s servant”
2x Grandfather: George Washington GILLESPIE b. 13 Sept 1858 Obeys Creek, Scott, Virginia
2x Grandmother: Roxey Caroline ROSS b. 1864 Wayne County, West Virginia these two grandparents of the mother of Rod Parsley are where the “rubber meets the road” meaning: “is the most important point for something, the moment of truth. so to speak.” These two grandparents are such high Illuminati bloodlines I almost don’t know where to start.
3x Grandfather: John William GILLESPIE b. 1824 Tennessee
3x Grandmother: Martha Jane STUART b. 1826 Tennessee
4x Grandfather: George GILLESPIE b. 10 June 1807 Williamson, Tennessee
4x Grandmother: Barbara Last name Unknown b. 1775 North Carolina
5x Grandfather: John GILLESPIE b. 18 March 1773 Rowan, North Carolina
5x Grandmother: Elizabeth BRANDON b 10 July 1776 Rowan, North Carolina
6x Grandfather: Colonial George Washington GILLESPIE b. 22 JULY 1751 Rowan, North Carolina, British Colonial America
6x Grandmother: Mary GRAHAM b. 31 May 1751 Anson, North Carolina, British Colonial America
George Gillespie’s father was Thomas Gillespie b. 1719 and he was a very large plantation owner with 1,000 acres in Rowan County, North Carolina and 6,000 acres in western North Carolina.
“The sister of George Washington GILLESPIE was Lydia (Gillespie) Knox Wallace b. 1753. She married Capt James Knox b. 1752. Lydia and James had three children: Robert Knox, Naomi Knox, and Jane Gracy Knox. Jane Gracy Knox married Samuel Polk. Jane and Samuel had ten children. The first child was James Knox Polk b. 1795, the 11th President of the United States.”
7x Grandfather: Richard GRAHAM Sr b. 1716 Inveraray, Argyll, Scotland
7x Grandmother: Hannah Agnes CATHEY b. 1720 Somerset County, Pennsylvania, British Colonial America
8x Grandfather: James Stewart GRAHAM IV. b. 26 JULY 1670 Inverary, Argyllshire, Scotland
8x Grandmother: Jean COWAN b. 1 FEB 1670 Inverary, Argyll, Scotland
9x Grandfather: James GRAHAM b. 1630 Perthshire, Scotland
9x Grandmother: Lilias DRUMMOND b. 1583 Findo Gask, Perthshire, Scotland
10x Grandfather: Sir John GRAHAM b. 1597 Kinnaird, Angus-Shire, Scotland
10x Grandmother: Lady Agnes Jeane CHISHOLM of Cromlix b. 1603 Cromlix, Perthshire, Scotland
11x Grandfather: John GRAHAM 6th Earl of Menteith b. 1574 Perth, Perthshire, Scotland
11x Grandmother: Margaret Ann CAMPBELL b. 11 DEC 1550 Ayrshire, Scotland
12x Grandfather: Sir Matthew CAMPBELL of Loudoun, Sheriff of Ayr b. 1531 Loudoun, Ayreshire, Scotland
12x Grandmother: Lady Isabel DRUMMOND b. 1530 Drummond Castle, Perthshire, Scotland
13x Grandfather: Sir Hugh CAMPBELL of Loudoun b. 1502 Loudoun, Ayrshire, Scotland
13x Grandmother: Lady Elizabeth STEWART b. 1498 Balveny, Fifeshire, Scotland
14x Grandfather: Sir Matthew STEWART 2nd Earl of Lennox b. 5 May 1456 Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland
14x Grandmother: Elizabeth HAMILTON b. March 1473 Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland
15x Grandfather: James HAMILTON 6th of Cadzow, 1st Lord Hamilton b. 1415 Cadzow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
15x Grandmother: Mary STEWART (Alpin Clan) Princess of Scotland, Countess of Arran b. 13 May 1453 Stirling Castle, Stirlingshire, Scotland
16x Grandfather: James II King of Scotland b. 16 Oct 1430 Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
16x Grandmother: Maria Von Oldenburg EGMOND of Guelders Queen Consort of Scot b. 17 Jan 1431 Guelders, Netherlands
17x Grandfather: James I King of Scotland
18x Grandfather: Robert III King of Scotland
19x Grandfather: Robert II King of Scotland It’s here that Billy Graham and Rod Parsley are cousins and share this grandfather. Everyone should know by now that the kings of Scotland bloodline descends from the Egyptian Pharaohs and there is no doubt whatsoever that this is true.
After watching Pastor Parsley zip lining through the sanctuary like clowns we need to be reminded of what the Lord’s sanctuary really means. Here is a song that was uploaded by Lea Ngam: “Lord prepare me” (To be a sanctuary)
My suggestion is to stop giving these prosperity pastors money or donations under the guise of the tithing law.
Peace,
Missy
“When Zell Miller took the stage at one of Ohio’s largest “megachurches” last August, there was no talk of spitballs or duels, but there was plenty of rhetoric about soldiers and war. As the featured speaker at both a regular Sunday-evening church service and a political rally for about 1,300 pastors the following morning, the former Georgia senator wasn’t talking about gun-toting soldiers bringing democracy to the Middle East. Instead, to the delight of thousands of congregants at the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Miller spoke of Bible-toting Christian soldiers bringing theocracy to America.
The apostate Democrat came to Ohio as the special guest of televangelist Rod Parsley, a rising star of the Christian right who was lifted from political obscurity onto the national stage for his role in mobilizing voters in favor of his state’s gay-marriage ban last year. Parsley, a Bible-college dropout who claims to have begun his evangelical career in his parents’ backyard by preaching to a tiny congregation nearly 20 years ago, now boasts a 12,000-member church with affiliated schools offering education from preschool through college; a daily television program, Breakthrough, seen on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and other fundamentalist-Christian television outlets; a 2,000-member fellowship of affiliated churches; and a political organization, the Orwellian-sounding Center for Moral Clarity. But Parsley, who is hailed by the theocratic Christian right as a model of virtue and a representative of “values voters,” has been questioned by congregants and even his own family about his church governance and secretive fund-raising practices.
“Probably President Bush would not be in office today had it not been for him,” said Bishop Harry Jackson, a black pastor from the Washington, D.C., suburbs and a fellow rising star in the religious right. A registered Democrat who said that he and Parsley share the same theological and political viewpoint, Jackson runs the High Impact Leadership Coalition, which promotes its “Black Contract With America on Moral Values.” That effort has led Jackson into alliance with the Arlington Group, a coalition of the Christian-right political elite with which Parsley is also a∞liated. According to Jackson, Parsley’s style of preaching is “very, very user-friendly to African Americans,” which may explain why the white pastor has a congregation that is 40-percent black. Jackson also maintained that Parsley’s work with Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, as a “black and white team” campaigning for the gay-marriage ban in churches across Ohio, created the “ricochet effect” of bringing out voters for George W. Bush in 2004.
Jackson was careful to point out that Parsley did not explicitly campaign for Bush, which would have jeopardized his church’s tax-exempt status. But that was something Parsley clearly wanted to do in light of his $2,000 contribution to the Bush-Cheney campaign and his outspoken contempt for the Internal Revenue Service rules that prohibit clergy from endorsing candidates. His tag-team campaign for the gay-marriage ban with Blackwell — who was not only the state co-chair of the Bush-Cheney re-election effort but also supervised the election as secretary of state — certainly provided support to Bush. Now, through campaign contributions and joint public appearances, Parsley is supporting Blackwell’s bid to become the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2006.
Although Parsley has barely stopped short of explicitly endorsing Blackwell, he insists that party affiliation doesn’t matter, and that he supports anyone, Republican or Democrat, who shares his view that the Bible offers the ultimate word on morality. Portraying himself as nonpartisan, and even as a Christ-like savior of the less fortunate, he claims (borrowing from Miller) that he is neither a Democrat nor a Republican but a “Christocrat.”
After Ohio’s decisive role in last year’s election-when Bush almost doubled his share of the black vote over his showing in 2000-the nation’s theocratic Christian elite sat up and took notice of Parsley. According to Jackson, Parsley was among about a dozen ministers — and one of only a handful of whites-invited by Focus on the Family leader James Dobson to an exclusive December 2004 meeting to discuss the divide between white and black evangelical churches. The most well-known public faces of the Christian right, said Jackson, such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Dobson himself, appeal primarily to white evangelicals. Among Christians, Jackson added, Parsley is “certainly on his way to having the appeal” that these figures have, but Parsley also has the ability to “break the mold” because of his appeal to blacks. Jackson also noted that since the December meeting, Parsley has become “very, very instrumental” in developing a new allegiance between black and white evangelical Christians.
At 48, Parsley’s relative youth qualifies him to follow in the steps of the septuagenarian leadership that rose to prominence in the 1970s and ’80s, and he is positioned, supporters say, for a ranking position among the next generation of political evangelicals. Miller describes Parsley as “one of the giants that’s coming along.” The new evangelical generation is epitomized by the come-as-you-are megachurch, where parishioners can show up dressed in anything from jeans and a T-shirt to a well-tailored suit, and where staid hymnals are tossed aside in favor of upbeat praise songs set to blaring rock music. This style blurs the line between evangelicals and Pentecostals-also known as “charismatics”-like Parsley, whose services are boisterous and sweaty, and would look to outsiders more like a pep rally than a worship service. Capitalizing on this appeal, Parsley has deliberately reached out to young people. His purpose was plain when he announced the planned formation of a new nonprofit organization, Reformation Ohio, in August. Reformation Ohio’s goals include, among other things, registering 400,000 new voters through its member churches and preaching to 1 million Ohioans over the next four years in an effort to convert 100,000. Many of these sought-after converts will be teenagers, through a $10 million campaign by Youth With a Mission, a nonprofit group that aggressively evangelizes through extreme sports, Christian rock concerts, dance, and performance art.
Owing to the breadth of his appeal (black, white, young, old) Parsley has been embraced by the GOP leadership and the right-wing punditocracy as a representative of “moral values” — from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (who had Parsley and Jackson at his side when he hosted a news conference in support of the judicial nomination of Janice Rogers Brown), to Texas Governor Rick Perry (who had Parsley, along with Perkins and American Family Association President Don Wildmon, on hand when he hosted his controversial Sunday bill-signing ceremony at a Christian school, where Parsley called gay sex “a veritable breeding ground of disease”), to Ann Coulter (who helped him launch his book tour), to National Association of Evangelicals President Ted Haggard (who has called Parsley “a bold, dynamic man of faith who’s committed to doing the right thing no matter what”), to Bush himself (who included Parsley on a conference call to religious leaders shortly after the announcement of John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court). Representative Walter Jones, the North Carolina Republican best known for demanding “freedom fries” in the House cafeteria, said that Parsley is a “true servant of my Lord and Savior” who “felt a calling to be more active and visible” in politics and is now becoming a national figure. Jones is the sponsor of the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, a bill Parsley supports because it would lift the IRS restriction on electioneering from the pulpit. In the past year, Jones said, Parsley has become more visible to legislators, though Jones declined to identify other members of Congress associated with him. One prominent politician who has publicly done so, however, is Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, who is considering a 2008 presidential bid (and refused a request to be interviewed for this article).
In his church, parsley claims to be fomenting revolution at God’s direction. This revolution-theocratic in character, of course — is portrayed by Parsley as a battle between the beleaguered, persecuted Christian and a secular culture that has devolved into chaos. Parsley, a man by turns bellicose, ingratiating, and kitschy, has placed his cult of personality front and center in the “culture war” — a label that suits his depiction of an apocalyptic showdown between good and evil. Whether he is discussing the distinction between Christian and Muslim (“I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam”), straight and gay (“the pressure on society to accept the audacious behaviors and disastrous consequences of homosexual activity is not a matter of cultural drift or shifting mores; it is a highly orchestrated, highly organized, and extremely disciplined political program”), or atheist and theocrat (the media has engaged in a “high-tech persecution of my faith”), Parsley sees battle lines drawn clearly. And he is the arbiter of what’s right and wrong because, as he is unafraid to say, God told him so. In a May broadcast of TBN’s Praise the Lord television program, Tony Perkins, a prominent leader of the theocratic elite, introduced Parsley to the audience as one of the “new generals” of a Christian army bringing a revival “in every realm of life” to fruition.
Parsley lards his preaching and writing with references to his divinely inspired leadership and his “anointing” by God. He exhorts parishioners that God “has not only called us to war but empowered us to win.” In promoting his book Silent No More, Parsley never tires of talking about the inspiration provided by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s statement that he would never again be silent in the face of human suffering. He calls for a “moral revolution” like the one staged by Martin Luther King Jr., which will, he predicts, give rise to a “Third Great Awakening.” Whether it’s Wiesel or King, Parsley’s intention to equate himself with iconic figures engaged in humanity’s great moral struggles is unmistakable. Parsley even sees his location in Ohio as divinely ordained. In April, he told Focus on the Family’s Citizen Link magazine, “Ohio is a hotbed. I believe very much in the geographic locating abilities of the Holy Spirit.” In August, he went so far as to tell his audience of 1,300 pastors that the country’s focus on Ohio’s pivotal role in 2004 was no coincidence. “God geographically located you,” he told them, encouraging them to believe that “you are a major candidate for a role in this revolution.”
Jackson explains that his friend Parsley is preaching a “message of hope and encouragement.” But while Parsley often denounces the income disparity between blacks and whites, he was unable, in response to written questions submitted to his press agent, to identify a single policy initiative that would directly address the problem. (Despite his oft-repeated promise to be “silent no more,” Parsley refused to be interviewed for this article.) Parroting right-wing Republican orthodoxy, he replied: “I’m convinced the best thing government can do to help the poor is to get out of the way. If government reduced taxes, removed industrial restraints, eliminated wage controls, and abolished subsidies, tariff[s], and other constraints on free enterprise, the poor would be helped in a way that [Aid to Families With Dependent Children], Social Security, and unemployment insurance could never match.”
Exactly how parsley purports to “help” the poor, both black and white, is evident in his practice of Word of Faith theology, also known as the “prosperity gospel.” Word of Faith is a nondenominational religious movement with no social church hierarchy or ordination procedures, which emphasizes the absolute prophetic authority of pastors, the imperative to make tithes and offerings to the church, and the power of an individual’s spoken word to lay claim to their spiritual and material desires. Purveyors of Word of Faith, like Parsley, teach their flock to “sow a seed” by donating money to the church, promising a “hundredfold” return. Word of Faith has been popularized, in large part, by the immense growth of TBN — a nonprofit entity with a 24-7 lineup of regular evangelists and faith healers, including Parsley, assets of more than $600 million, and annual revenues approaching $200 million, making it the closest competitor to Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.
The most prominent critics of Word of Faith are Christians who consider it a heretical distortion of the Bible. According to these critics, Word of Faith preachers prey on people of modest means, promising prosperity in return for putting money in the pocket of a self-anointed prophet. Ole Anthony, president of the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation and a leading Word of Faith critic, regards the emphasis on financial abundance as evidence of God’s blessing as “the oldest heresy in the church.” He describes Parsley as a “power-hungry” man, living “an extravagant lifestyle that has become the hallmark of televangelists these days.” With his wife and children, Parsley resides in a 7,500-square-foot house valued at more than $1 million.
(I like this paragraph part here) Word of Faith ministries like Parsley’s operate in secret. Without transparency, the extent of their fund raising and how they spend the proceeds are unknown. In his responses to my written questions, Parsley said that his church has never applied for membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a voluntary-membership organization of nearly 1,200 evangelical groups that requires, among other things, public disclosure of audited financial statements and reports, including financial information about specific projects for which a ministry is soliciting gifts. Parsley claimed that World Harvest conducts an annual independent audit “through the scrutiny of the board of directors,” which consists of himself and his parents. (Council standards also prohibit insiders from maintaining exclusive control of church governance.) He does not make that “audit” available to the public, however, nor does he provide documentation of how money he says he raises for humanitarian projects is spent.
Parsley’s secrecy has led Ministry Watch, a conservative Christian organization that monitors financial accountability practices, to give his and several other well-known Word of Faith organizations an “F” rating for transparency. World Harvest, through its press agent, claimed that its resistance to disclosure “is consistent with the policy of most churches across the country.” But Rod Pitzer, Ministry Watch’s director of research, said that World Harvest’s lack of transparency is “very unusual” and that the “vast majority” of Christian organizations are becoming more transparent.
Pitzer also said that Word of Faith theology is “self-serving,” “harmful to other people,” and “not orthodox.” In fund-raising appeals, for example, Parsley has urged people to burn their bills and donate to him to free themselves from debt. Through his Web site and television program, Parsley sells “covenant swords” and “prayer cloths”-kitsch objects that he claims will bring the purchaser miraculous freedom from financial problems as well as any physical or emotional ailments. He has written that “one of the first reasons for poverty is a lack of knowledge of God and His Word,” and that “the Bible says that to withhold the tithe is to rob God.” He pressures his congregants to tithe 10 percent of their gross income, in addition to offerings, which are aggressively sought two or three times during each service. Yet not even donors can learn precisely where their money goes.
The Word of Faith movement experienced explosive growth in the 1980s, particularly among African Americans. That growth, argues sociologist Milmon F. Harrison in Righteous Riches: The Word of Faith Movement in Contemporary African American Religion, is attributable to Reaganite economic policies, the increasing divide between rich and poor, and the gap between the reality of people’s economic lives and the prosperity depicted on popular television shows and in movies. The University of California professor says that the Word of Faith message offers parishioners hope-however tenuous-that they, too, could prosper. Not surprisingly, Republican strategists have taken note of Word of Faith’s appeal to potential voters. When Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman announced the formation of an African-American Advisory Committee earlier this year, two of its 20 members were promoters of Word of Faith: Bishop Keith Butler, pastor to a Southfield, Michigan, megachurch and a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate (whose bid is supported by Parsley) and the Reverend Joe Watkins, a former staffer in the first Bush White House and occasional Crossfire guest who has also appeared on Praise The Lord. (Blackwell serves on Mehlman’s committee, too.) While such evangelists are nothing new, the Republican Party’s exploitation of their audience in the name of “moral values” typifies the crass opportunism of the alliance between the GOP and the theocratic right.
Perhaps coincidentally, parsley’s church started to grow when he engaged the services of a Lawrenceville, Georgia, attorney named Dale Allison. According to Ole Anthony, Allison was one of several people traveling around the country in the 1980s and ’90s showing churches “how to protect God’s money from the government.” Allison is described by sources in Georgia and in court records as a brazen con man who helped pastors set up dictatorial churches, through which they enriched themselves by convincing followers that God required them to give their money to the pastor. In 1997, Allison was disbarred for orchestrating a complex web of bogus financial transactions with another preacher he represented, Calvin Simmons, some of which were designed to defraud Simmons’ parishioners. These transactions included an effort to hide Simmons’ assets from a group of creditors and church members that had obtained a court judgment against Simmons.
A person who was both a member of Simmons’ congregation and worked with Allison in the 1980s described the church as one that “used people beyond belief.” Simmons’ arrangement, said the former congregant, “couldn’t happen without a crooked attorney,” because having an attorney involved gave the operation the appearance of propriety. This person, who asked not to be identified by name, said that with the help of Dale Allison and Samuel Brockway, a Lawrenceville businessman who served on the church’s board, Simmons created a church structure that demanded unquestioning obedience. The trio convinced the congregation-mostly people who were poor or of very modest means-that Simmons was a prophet of God. The pastor and his inner circle aggressively solicited money, defrauded people by hiding assets in corporations set up using fictitious names for officers, and broke up marriages. “If you went against the prophet,” said the former congregant, “you would incur the wrath of God,” a threat that caused “hurt and havoc” in people’s lives.
The former congregant also recalled Allison working with pastors in Ohio, but did not have specific knowledge of Allison’s work with Parsley. The template corporate bylaws for churches created by Allison “gave the pastor vast dictatorial powers” over his parishioners. According to excerpts of World Harvest’s bylaws made part of the public record in a lawsuit filed against Parsley in the 1990s, “the government of the Church is in the hands of the Pastor, who has ultimate authority under Christ”; “the church must function as a theocracy”; a democracy “is not God’s way”; and “the purpose of the Church is not to do the will of the majority, but the will of God.”
While other former Simmons congregants could not be located or did not return phone calls, court records in Georgia reflect legal problems both Allison and Simmons faced as a result of their activities. A sworn affidavit in one case brought by a former church member, who was proceeding without a lawyer, described Simmons, Brockway, and Allison as “the religious con-artist triad” of Simmons’ church, and accused them of tax and bankruptcy fraud, deceptive fund-raising tactics, and brainwashing. They “financially exploited” members of the church, promising them “deliverance of [sic] their financial problems, healing, and an undefined present utopia,” but instead used donations to buy themselves luxurious homes, rental properties, and luxury cars. (The case was eventually dismissed because the plaintiff did not plead legally recognized causes of action.) According to the affidavit, Simmons taught that it is more important to tithe and make offerings than to pay bills, and that poverty is caused by stealing God’s money, which means failing to tithe and make offerings.
In an interview, Allison denied the allegations of “disgruntled” former church members, and Brockway called them “foolishness.” (Simmons did not return a phone call seeking comment.) Allison nonetheless maintained that church members have no right to question how their tithes and offerings are used, insisting that there is no biblical or legal requirement for a church to disclose an audited financial statement. While Allison claimed that he did not do the same type of business work for Parsley as he did for Simmons, he did contend that “when you look at the Bible and see how God set up a structure” for compensation, “you’d expect the pastor to be the highest-paid person around.”
Public records show that Parsley engaged Allison’s services from 1987 at least through 1994. Those services included filing corporate papers with the state of Ohio, assisting in litigation, and sitting on the church’s compensation committee. In our e-mail exchange through Parsley’s press agent, I asked 15 detailed questions about Allison, including what Parsley knew about Allison’s malfeasance and when he knew it. In response to each query, Parsley answered, “We have not utilized Mr. Allison’s services in a decade and have no information regarding his personal or professional circumstances.” That reply evaded the essential question of whether Parsley knew that Allison, although not disbarred until 1997, was engaging in fraudulent schemes in Georgia, and, if he did, why he employed Allison at least through 1994.
Among the questions Parsley refused to answer directly was why he continued to use Allison’s services after a 1986 article in The Columbus Dispatch reported that Parsley was running a franchise-like, unaccredited Bible college out of his church basement while claiming that the college was accredited by the state of Ohio. When confronted by angry students who discovered that their credits were not transferable, Parsley claimed that he was “very definitely a victim” of the Bible college’s false claims. The Dispatch article identified the Bible college’s lawyer as none other than Dale Allison, but Parsley refused to explain why he would continue to employ an attorney whose other client had “victimized” him.
Parsley also refused to say whether he knew in 1987 that Allison had declared bankruptcy, and, if he knew, why he continued to use the lawyer’s services, as Parsley himself has taught that poverty is evidence of a lack of faith in God. Allison’s bankruptcy filings show that he viewed the proceeding as a game; in one, he listed a Lucifer Fallenangel at a P.O. Box 666 as one of his creditors. According to the court order disbarring Allison, in the years preceding his bankruptcy, Allison and Simmons created multiple phony companies, often using fake names, and used these to take out bank loans, incorporate businesses, and orchestrate a phony foreclosure on Allison’s house. A person familiar with Allison’s bankruptcy proceeding described a “vast and complex” scheme to deceive Allison’s clients, some of whom were also members of Simmons’ church, and to hide assets that was “very sordid and very rotten.” But Allison got away with it. In 1992 he was discharged from bankruptcy without any money distributed to his creditors.
Shortly after his bankruptcy discharge, however, the Georgia State Bar opened its investigation of Allison. (He was never admitted to practice law in Ohio.) While the bar’s three-year investigation of Allison was ongoing, according to public documents, Allison filed trade-name registrations for World Harvest with the state of Ohio; filed amended articles of incorporation for the church, which laid out a long list of projects the church was authorized to pursue, along with citations to biblical authority for each one; incorporated several for-profit corporations, one of which was designed to be a “feeder corporation” for World Harvest Church; and served on the church’s compensation committee, which determined Parsley’s salary and benefits. Parsley refused to explain, in his written responses, why he continued to use Allison’s services during this time.
No public records of any criminal prosecutions of Allison could be located, although the Georgia Supreme Court clearly found that he had engaged in criminal activity, including using fictitious and forged names on loan applications and state corporate filings. He can no longer practice law in Georgia, but describes himself as “a consultant” through Beyth Anowth Ministries, a federally tax-exempt organization that listed its accomplishments on a recent tax return as visiting churches in Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, California, Georgia, and Ohio; creating and amending corporate papers and tax-exempt applications for dozens of churches; and consulting with churches and ministries “with various problems in biblical structure, eldership difficulties, teaching subjects, disciplinary problems, hiring, and construction.” Brockway said that he, Allison, and Simmons are still friends and business associates, but refused to describe their ventures. He described Allison as “a fine person; he’s an upstanding fellow, who helps churches reorganize and protect themselves from the IRS” and “helps them with their business operations.”
Meanwhile, records in three lawsuits filed against Parsley in the 1990s indicate that the autocratic structure of the church shaped his behavior and, in some instances, drove followers-and even his own family members-to the courthouse. All three plaintiffs complained that other church members ostracized them for questioning Parsley, and one plaintiff became the target of a venomous sermon during which Parsley publicly accused him of trying to extort money from the church. All three cases were settled in secret, and the lawyers and parties are prohibited from discussing them publicly.
In one case, filed in late 1992, a painting contractor who also attended World Harvest, Lewis Bungard, alleged that Parsley choked him and that Parsley’s father punched him after an argument over money owed him under a contract to paint Parsley’s new home, during which Bungard accused the pastor of deceiving his followers. Criminal charges against Parsley were dropped, Bungard claimed, after Parsley’s handlers backed up his denial to police that he had assaulted Bungard. Parsley’s father pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct. According to court records, Bungard sued not only to recover the money he was owed under the contract but to establish a court-supervised trust to ensure that money Parsley had solicited to build a home for unwed mothers and a retirement home was used for those purposes. Bungard and his wife testified that based on Parsley’s representations, they had donated about $7,000, sometimes in cash or by check. Because the case settled in secret, it is not publicly known whether such a trust was ever created. Around the same time that Bungard filed his lawsuit, Parsley’s aunt Naomil Endicott (his mother’s sister) accused his father (her own brother-in-law) of sexually harassing her while she was working at the church. When she filed her lawsuit, the church issued a press release that accused her of being a “disgruntled” family member who had engaged in a “pattern of manipulation … to obtain monies from the family and the church.” That case settled in secret, too, after Endicott produced a tape recording she said proved the elder Parsley’s harassment.
In court papers, Endicott described an environment hostile to anyone questioning “self-serving, unethical, or inappropriate behavior” by Parsley and his parents. She also claimed that she was not paid for overtime work, and that Allison counseled her to execute tax forms to elect to be exempted from Social Security coverage, which saved the cost of the church’s fica contribution. He did not explain that these decisions would reduce her Social Security retirement benefits. “These were presented as forms necessary to take advantage of a tax benefit for employees of nonprofit corporations,” she charged. In response to my question about whether Allison had counseled World Harvest employees to execute such forms, Parsley replied only that the church “makes all appropriate filings in accordance with all legal requirements.” Allison maintained that Endicott was a “minister” and therefore could opt out of Social Security benefits, but that he never forced anyone to waive that right.
Parsley’s cousin Dwayne Endicott sued Parsley in 1995, claiming that he was forced out of his job as a maintenance worker at the church after Parsley discovered that he had complained to a friend about the lack of overtime pay. In a sworn affidavit, Endicott testified that Parsley “yelled, screamed, and berated me for almost 10 minutes, stating that I was causing dissension and discord in the church.” Parsley told him that he was “in rebellion against the church and against God and that I should ‘stop lying and be a man.'” Endicott claimed that he was later called in for a staff meeting with Lester Sumrall-an Indiana evangelist Parsley credits as his mentor-who “stated the [sic] we should be careful what we say about ‘God’s anointed persons,'” meaning Parsley.
The notion that Parsley himself might actually be divinely anointed-and thus someone to whom congregants owe utter obedience — is an unmistakable part of the marketing strategy at World Harvest. During the musical prelude to a recent service, as the Stepford-like “Praise Team” sang “holy, holy is our God Almighty, holy is His name alone,” the cameraman, whose work was projected onto a half-dozen large-screen televisions flanking the stage, panned away from the singers to a close-up of Parsley.
Moments later, when church elder Bill Canfield came onstage to deliver a stern lecture about a biblical passage on obedience, hands all around me reflexively reached for the offering envelopes stacked on the backs of the pews. Canfield had not even uttered the words “money” or “offering” yet, but sure enough, he went on to say, “If you want to be obedient to God, I want you to take out a seed right now. … If you sow a seed in obedience to God, he will work in supernatural ways to multiply your seed.” After the offering buckets had been collected, Parsley took the stage, and in his typical call-and-response style, urged the audience to “praise the Lord.” When they didn’t respond enthusiastically enough, Parsley grumbled angrily into his microphone: “It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command.”
“Sarah Posner is an American journalist and author. She is the author of God’s Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters (Polipoint 2008) and has written for The American Prospect, The Guardian, The Nation, Salon, AlterNet, The Atlantic, The Washington Spectator, The Daily Beast, and The Washington Post. She was formerly a contributing writer for Religion Dispatches, writing on the intersection of religion and politics.” – Wikipedia and yes I like it.
