My conversation with the "Fixer" attorney for Pentecostal TV evangelists

TerryWalstrom

I had occasion to chat with a man who was the attorney for a large cabal (all related by blood) of Pentecostal TV evangelists.
How it came about was as follows.
I was finishing my first book about my stint in prison as a JW (I Wept by the Rivers of Babylon)
and a man in a suit walked over and asked me what I was working on.
He said he'd seen me every day and got curious.
I told him.
He jumped at the chance to unburden at that point.

In the course of our conversation, he opened my eyes to a great many things, not the least of which was the poisonous inevitability of Larceny which comes with being a spokesman for God's 'truth.'

He described the process.

"All those people reaching out to YOU with absolute love and faith is stronger than any drug. It ignites a fire in the ego. I've seen some really good people drown in admiration as their character begins to rot. They feel more than powerful. It becomes a sense of entitlement, greed, and invulnerability. The worst part is how willingly the humble poor folks, their members, just throw themselves into victimhood with a frightening joy! The transformation from Jekyll into Hyde is like a werewolf when the moon turns full."

He went on to tell me of how besotted with money, drugs, sex, and debauchery formerly strait-laced preachers become so easily, an inch at a time. He shook his head and described phone calls in the middle of the night with cries for "Help" when these evangelists went a step too far and needed legal help to pull them out of a jam; the suitcases filled with cash and the payoffs in sleazy motel rooms.

I spoke to him about the Ex-JW's who wanted to blow the whistle on the Watchtower organization and he dropped his head in shame.

"You don't know how sick of my life I've become. I am the keeper of secrets so disturbing I can't sleep well any longer. I want to be a whistleblower and just tell everything I know--and believe me--I could take the whole network of famous preachers down in a heartbeat because every last one of them has filthy secrets to hide. . . "
I urged the man to do so. He looked at me with his face drained of color and said, "I wouldn't live very long if I tried that--and they have made quite clear that I should understand it."

He told me about Robert Tilton, a local TV evangelist who had been taken down by an investigative report. Tilton had owned so many satellites used for TV ministry, NBC leased some of them for their broadcasts. His ministry required one million dollars per day just to break even! The hardest part of being Tilton's attorney was finding ways to hide all the cash.

Not only did this conversation disturb me, it caused me to reflect on the JW.org manifestation of a TV-style presence and the sudden appeals for cash. Lawyers and litigation are draining of resources like a gambling addiction in Vegas. The money flows in and goes away with such blazing swiftness--the chase after more and more funding gets out of hand to the point the ENTIRE ministry is only focused on the acquisition of $$$$.

How deep is the Watchtower cabal into that swirling whirlpool of eventual self-destruction? How many lawyers are on the 24/7 payroll? What are their legal expenses each day around the world?

All of this hearkens back to Charles T. Russell and his lawyer J.F.Rutherford--comrades in duplicity--who were living in much easier times BEFORE taxation was even an issue. Just how much corruption eventually rotted away the veneer of a righteous group of "Bible Students"?

I think history shows the answer. The Bible Students fell away so rapidly and with such broken-hearted disappointment at what Rutherford had brought to fruition, they more or less doomed themselves to become starved of cash.

The attorney, just before he got up to leave, said something to me that stuck.
"Every effective minister will gain a following and one day the moment will come. Every last one of them will be at a crossroad. The most important decision of their life will be facing them. Do they go BIG and reach for the fame, fortune, and power--or will they remain a minnow in a puddle, humble and unsung? It is an intoxicating test of character every last one of them fail--at least from my experience."

I've e-mailed him twice since that first conversation.
He replies and promises to follow up...but...nothing comes of it.

Fear. That's my guess.

Giordano

Very interesting Terry, and as always........ well written!

We have a fair number of big WT sins........ the worst are the ones that cost a follower their health and often their death.

The negative history of how the WT treats or didn't treat their pedophile problem.

Simply stated the WTBTS is reckless with the health, education and general welfare of it's followers. I am sure there are stories circulating that would be massively stumbling.

sir82

Fascinating....and depressing.

Thanks

Vidiot

So... sell your soul and become rich and successful...

...or keep your integrity and become - for all intents and purposes - a nobody.

Sounds about right, actually.

Vidiot

Terry - "...Lawyers and litigation are draining of resources like a gambling addiction in Vegas. The money flows in and goes away with such blazing swiftness - the chase after more and more funding gets out of hand to the point the ENTIRE ministry is only focused on the acquisition of $$$$..."

Explains where the 3+ billion from the Brooklyn property sales went.

Is it just me, or does anyone else get the impression that that with all of this going on...

...the naysayers who insist that "the WTS is still going strong and will easily outlive us all" seem to be dwindling?

ShirleyW

He told me about Robert Tilton, a local TV evangelist who had been taken down by an investigative report. Tilton had owned so many satellites used for TV ministry, NBC leased some of them for their broadcasts. His ministry required one million dollars per day just to break even! The hardest part of being Tilton's attorney was finding ways to hide all the cash.

As long as Tilton keeps me laughing on YouTube,where's he known as the farting preacher, I don't care what he does, he doing the same as all the other bogus evangelists and the GB now with their videos they're showing at the meetings now.

TerryWalstrom

If you have enough lawyers, have "important" power connections (think "Catholic Church") many small misdeeds can vanish. It's really the whistleblower who brings down the ax if a huge revelation catches the guardians of secrets by surprise.

How did Hillary Clinton manage to survive so many misdeeds?
How has Donald Trump?
When Bernie Sanders got 'legally' cheated from behind the scenes sabotage...
When the Banking / Savings and Loan crisis came down--
How many bad actors went to prison?

$$$$$$$$$ can just about pull off miracles.

The Fall Guy

Whatever the primary & real reason for the org's thirst for cash is, maybe we'll live long enough for a high ranking HQ individual to waken up and reveal the dark truth.

My money's still on the org being heavily in debt/virtually bankrupted by Wall Street. I can dream! :)

Crazyguy2

This helps to explain the sales of JW property’s. I know they the GB try and use mostly in-house attorneys people willing to work for free but as the trials and lawsuits mount they are probably going to be forced to use out side counsel more and more. It’s going to become very expensive to be a JW.

Sea Breeze

Thank you for relating that chance encounter Terry.

With the average congregation size in America at 184, most pastors probably don't fall victim to the glitz and glamour of mega-ministries.

My conversation with the "Fixer" attorney for Pentecostal TV evangelists

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