Hargis even went so far as to write a speech for Joseph McCarthy, the famous Communist witch hunter. On the days when the Holy Spirit didn't show up freely, you had to help it along; after all, you still needed to pass the hat. The parking lot was deserted, and the building was locked. This is his first article for GQ. The conference room was packed with a thousand people, maybe two thousand. I knew he'd been born in 1946 in Germany, where his father, an ethnic Bulgarian, was an evangelical pastor. We started talking. He had everything. Bed Bath and Beyond Coupon 20% entire purchase, Target Circle: up to 50% off with Target promo code, Join Michael Kors KORSVIP and receive 10% off your first purchase using Michael Kors Coupon Code, 2023 Cond Nast. There are cameras surrounding both buildings. On her second day on the job, opening envelopes, she counted about $30,000 in donationsin a room filled with about 20 other women doing the same job. They would take the stones out, take the gold to be resold. Anything that wasn't valuable was shredded. Soon after the "healing", they watched her quietly leave the room. This lady came in, and everyone said she was nuts, Sanchez told me. A Christian Post piece from late 2019 outlined some of his current financial struggles: his Boeing 747 has been on blocks for two years, since the six-figure repairs that it needs are currently out of Angley's reach, financially speaking. When you're praying for the sick, it's through the Holy Spirit, and there's some times that it works freely, and then there are other times when the Spirit's just not there, Skelton said. If God created man and man created the small two-way radios that Popoff and an assistant used to have secretly communicate while Popoff was performing, then hallelujah. Prestigious debunker James Randi exposed the trick on national television, and Popoff was never heard from again. During a stunning sermon in 2010, Lamb admitted to having had an affair a few years earlier. [17] On subsequent broadcasts, he tearfully begged for additional donations to help repair the damage. more. Popoff talked about everything, without a trace of defensiveness. The apparent oddity of the merger was raised with Popoff in a 2011 deposition when he was asked why an international TV ministry based in California might merge with a minuscule church outside of Dallas. Did he fear God just enough to gesture toward authenticity, so that if he was ever questioned at the pearly gates about the millions of dollars of other people's gold and silver and Social Security money, he could say that in every New Jersey-packed packet of holy water there was a minuscule amount of blessing? At this point, I had a sense of dj vu, a flashback to other scandal-plagued gurus I'd interviewed, like the New Age teacher and ex-rabbi Marc Gafni, who had been accused of plagiarism, serial dishonesty, and sexual misconduct with a 13-year-old (his excuse was that she'd been 14), or the Zen master Eido Shimano, who'd been seducing and emotionally abusing his female students for decades. (Steve Martin borrowed this bit of Popoff's routine for his 1992 flick Leap of Faith, and Chevy Chase had fun at Popoff's expense in Fletch Lives.). So that every little package of water contains a few molecules of holiness. Peter's list included more crusades, Book some fun trips including Italy, Skiing, and Lake Tahoe, and, at number five, Tax Exemption in Canada. It was an astonishing prcis of the prosperity gospel. Pete Popoff We found 30 records for Pete Popoff in CA, FL and 6 other states. Billy James Hargis was the grandpappy of many televangelist trends, like mail fraud and swearing that the broadcast would go off the air if people didn't send money ASAP. She had first responded to my pestering a few months earlier, but I never expected that the Popoffs would consent to an interview. [citation needed], The 1992 Steve Martin dramedy Leap of Faith was inspired by Popoff's fraudulent ministry, and demonstrated a number of the techniques Popoff and other televangelist scammers use to create the illusion of divine intervention. Their ministry fell pretty clearly under the umbrella of "that's absolutely a cult" when it was discovered that they had followers working in a sweatshop, producing high-end denim jackets that were sold for hundreds of dollars. This septuagenarian clocks the hours of a junior lawyer trying to make partner. According to her, the network serves as a personal bank account for the Crouch family, who aren't above zany shenanigans like having their chauffeurs ordained to avoid having to pay taxes on their salaries. No, for real, why doesn't God want televangelists flying business class? He was producing shows nearly every day and being broadcast on hundreds of channels across the world. The night that I was healed and hugged by Peter Popoff, I saw no sign that he was using an earpiece. One became president, the other just became rich. Their methods were questionable and their message was a horror show, but otherwise, it was an unspectacular enterprise. Ted Haggard was the Chiclet-toothed face of evangelism for three years as the president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Anyway, then he did it all again three years later and lost everything. But here's the thing about Peter and Liz Popoff and their kids: They could have all their ski trips and Bentleys and Clydesdale horses without ever working another day in their lives. Taking the high ground (anything is high ground once you get low enough), Lamb repented, asked his congregation for forgiveness, and naturally went on Doctor Phil. According to Forbes, one man who began working for Angley at 18 claims that he would regularly be called to the preacher's house for "special anointings" involving personal massages and a marked lack of clothing. She'd sold all her belongings. I fed my curiosity in the meantime with the broad outline of Popoff's story. Peter Popoff Email Helicopter Pilot @ US Army View Peter's Email (It's Free) 5 free lookups per month. In reality, he said, the expos on The Tonight Show barely hurt his finances. Back in the '70s and '80s, Swaggart was one of the most influential evangelical preachers in America. Prayer Request Form Peter Popoff Ministries Prayer Request Form I want to Pray with you! I had expected to be rebuffed. In each case, I was shocked that they'd agreed to be interviewed, until I realized, as I sat with them, that they didn't think they had anything to hide. When partners wouldn't donate so much money, they would cut back on staff, Sanchez said. Amen! Interestingly, it also states in Matthew that Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." His old jet (not to be confused with his other two old jets) was wearing a little thin at the seams, and he just knew his followers would help him, a humble servant of Jesus. When I inquired about the college scholarships and Ukrainian orphanages that, according to their mailings, the ministry funded, he said he'd get back to me with the addresses of the orphanages (he never did) and the details about how much the scholarships were worth (ditto). Hallelujah! [1], Because of Popoff's history of fraud and financial irregularities, his "People United For Christ" organization earned a "Did Not Disclose" rating with the Better Business Bureau, indicating its refusal to provide information that would enable BBB to determine whether the group adheres to its Standards for Charity Accountability. Cut to the mid-'70s. [14] Popoff would also "command" supplicants in wheelchairs to "rise and break free". A satanic preacher. Sitting on a stage, in an upholstered chair, Popoff implored his television audience to call an 800 number so that he could send them a secret faith tool that God had recently given him as he was praying about the four red moons of this year of Jubilee. If that wasn't incentive enough, there was more reason to reach for the phone. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. For Peter Popoff, we do 35 gallon-size jugs at a time, once or twice a month. He looked 30-ish and was wearing a Cowboys baseball cap and a greasy Unit Pack jumper. He was also the guy who got really upset about the purple Teletubby back in the '90s. Amen in Jesus's name! Popoff returned to his old ways, acquiring almost $4 million every year in the last part of the 1980s, as indicated by Randi. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, more than 40 years later, their media empire has an estimated value of $750 million. Actions like that should be red flags for congregation members, but like the big questions in life, even minute dealings with religion are complicated. From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations. The $1.3 million in church funds that an IRS investigation found redirected to the Bakkers' personal accounts couldn't take Jim down, but CNN reports the alleged hush money payment of $279,000 to cover up the rape of his secretary certainly pushed the "pause" button on his success story. We are a prosperity ministry that preaches prosperity, Nick added. How does Duplantis manage to make such conspicuous purchases without raising the ire of those who follow him? CLEVELAND, October 29, 2014 - Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that Peter Popoff, Vice President and President - Filtration Group, age 62, will retire effective February 1, 2015, after 36 years of dedicated service to Parker. The water, he claimed, was drawn from a spring near Chernobyl, Ukraine (site of the 1986 nuclear reactor disaster). You will lend and not borrow. (That one's from Joel Osteen.) (You remember Jesus. You could see, there was no fakery to it. I put it in his bed, I put it on his pillow, and my son joined the church and he got saved and he's still in churchand then I got $3,800 and new furniture., Such blessings! He was made of stuff too stern for something as trifling as a complete lack of moral fiber to knock him out of the box. Appliances had been delivered. "[27] Jason's video footage was also aired on the Nova episode "Secrets of the Psychics" in 1991. The workload depended on what Popoff was saying on his paid television spots. Once, Peter Popoff was a giant among '80s televangelists, wealthy until being ruined in scandal. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. When I was born, we traveled in a trailer.. It was a touching moment of humility from atop a pillar normally reserved for moral superiority. He went on to say that "on the days it didn't show, you still had to pay for the auditorium, so you needed to help the Holy Spirit along. 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