| Author | Message | ||
     EDWARD (216.183.185.87) |
DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHO IS MIKE MURDOCK. I THINK HE IS A TV PREACHER. IS HE A SOUND BIBLICAL TEACHER. OR SHOULD WE RUN FROM HIM. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
Much has been documented about Mike Murdock recently. I suggest you check out the following links and then make up your own mind about him. Profit In The Pulpit http://www.trinityfi.org/press/murdock01.html Blurring The Line http://www.trinityfi.org/press/murdock02.html Behind The Hype http://www.trinityfi.org/press/murdock03.html TV Evangelist Dismisses Investigation 'Falsehood' http://www.rickross.com/reference/murdock/murdock4.html Murdock uses 'love bonding' to reach donors http://www.rickross.com/reference/murdock/murdock3.html Blurring the Line http://www.rickross.com/reference/murdock/murdock5.html Ministry gives money to Murdock's relatives http://www.rickross.com/reference/murdock/murdock1.html Profit in the Pulpit http://www.rickross.com/reference/murdock/murdock2.html The Magnanimous Money Message of Mike Murdock http://www.letusreason.org/Popteac19.htm | ||
| EDWARD (216.183.185.87) |
THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH ANONYMOUS 24.14.202.85 | ||
| Anonymous (66.73.161.107) |
I attended a church/cult for years up until about a year ago. Mike Murdock visited there frequently. Every time he would "teach" he would, at the end, throw a ridiculous statement out like the lord is showing me that there are 100 people here who are supposed to give $10,000. Then he would wait until 100 people would come up to the altar. Then he would say something like, there are others of you God wants you to give $1000. He would go down the line until he had everyone in the entire sanctuary giving into his ministry. He would make you feel as if you had no faith if you didn't give. One time, I remember, he had everyone stand up who wanted their house paid in full (and of course everyone stood because everyone wants their house paid off). Then, after everyone stood up, he wanted everyone to give the amount of their mortgage as a seed! I actually know someone who gave him double! After all the years I saw people duped out of their money, nobody ever got their house paid off. If they would have applied the money to their mortgage instead of Murdock's pocket, their house would have been paid off a lot quicker. Some of his teaching was biblical but most of it was not. He was never motivated by love but only greed. He was ALWAYS very condescending as if he was God and everyone else was extremely stupid. I would definately run. Don't even listen to his teachings out of curiousity. Most of it is heresy and the problem is that if you don't know the Bible inside and out you may be tricked into believing some of the perversion. It is not a sound ministry. RUN! | ||
| Anonymous (68.119.47.6) |
mike murdock is a money man that is all he tells people to give money.. always to him or his work.. why not to the CHURCH they attend where all tithes and offerings should go. he is cultic in his teaching | ||
| Debby (205.188.117.20) |
Do not walk, but run from Mike Murdock. He is from the "Walk of Faith", "Prosperity" preachers club out profit from your desire to serve God. He visits a church/cult and is very close friends with Robb Thompson of Family Harvest Church. He is all about money, twisting the Word of God and misleading those that desire to serve the true living God. | ||
| Beware of Wolves looking like sheep (4.143.240.187) |
Mike Murdock uses a gimmick and mixed with a liitle scripture to sound good. He is by no means called or annointed and gets people to give by PRESSURE tactics, and out of emotion soulish reasons not spirit led giving. As Paul says in 2Cor 9 "Give not out of compulsion, obligation, reluctantly, sorrowfully but give as you purpose in your heart (spirit) . . . For God loves a cheerful giver" Jesus said to give into good ground, Murdock uses his income on himself and is called in by pastors to raise money as he does to undiscerning people who respond. Never give unless the holy spirit directs you, never give unscripturally, and never give or sow into bad ground to those with selfish motives and poor stewardship. Murdock is textbook bible example of a "Wolf in sheeps clothing". The pastors who use him have no maturity in the bible way of giving or in matters about discerning and hearing from the holy spirit. Get to know the Holy Spirit, the third man of the tinity. He "the Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into ALL (not just some) truth" Get to the bible God's word and ask the Holy Spirit for help there expecially "The things of God and His word are spiritually discerned" We only have the Holy Spirit (Gods spirit) down here everywhere and in us to direct us lead us guide us and give us understanding in Gods word. The Holy Spirit will never steer you wrong or violate Gods word."As many a are led by the spirit of God these are the sons of God" | ||
| Anonymous (216.183.184.131) |
Its is painfully obvious that Mike Murdock is a religious huckster in it for the cash. I have been fooled by some of these charltans but not some as outright obvious as Murdock. However I hope you please continue to warn others. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
The number 1 rule for con men is to target those who are in desperate situations. These people are the most likely to suspend disbelief and accept what is outright obvious to others. I have seen several testimonies of people who have written to Murdock about his false teaching only to receive back a form letter in which he expresses concern over their situation and assures them that he is praying for them to come through (even though they never mentioned any such situation in the letter). Then he encourages them to "sow a seed" so that God can answer their prayers. Unfortuately, there are people who are desperate to believe that Murdock has some special annoiting that is going to help them and they get sucked in. Once on the mailing list they continue to get form letters expressing concern over their situation and always ending with a request for money. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
An Open Letter to Mike Murdock by Susan Puzio http://www.propheticnews.com/murdockltr.html | ||
| FRED (216.183.185.87) |
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR ADVICE, I TOO BELIEVE THAT MIKE MURDOCK IS A VERY BIG DECEIVING PERSON AND HE WILL NEVER GET A NOTHER DIME OUT OF ME AGAIN. I AM SO TIRED OF THESE PEOPLE LYING TO US AND LIVING LIKE KINGS MAY GOD HELP THE BODY OF CHRIST DISCERN THE TRUTH I WENT TO A CHURCH YEARS AGO AND THEY KEEP BRING MIKE IN FROM TIME TO TIME, IGAVE MONEY TO HIS MINISTRY WITH HIS 58$ LIE AND THE SAME TIME I GAVE HIM EXTRA MONEY ,A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE GIVING AND I NEEDED SOME HELP FROM GOD SO I GAVE , BUT NOTHING EVER HAPPENED , I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN THE MONEY TO MY PARENTS | ||
| Anonymous (152.163.253.102) |
Is it possible that the church you gave the $58 offering in was Family Harvest Church in Tinley Park, IL? Go back to the top of this page, click "religious cults and sects", and then click on Family Harvest Church. There are two strings of postings for Family Harvest Church- check them both out. You will find Mike Murdock mentioned amongst these postings. If you are familiar with FHC from your $58 visit, you might be interested in the rest of the info. Remember, you do not have to pay God to help you. His help is free...all the time. You are correct that the body of Christ needs help in discerning the truth. God commanded us to test the scriptures. If we get duped because we didn't follow His directions, it is our own fault. Chalk up your experience as a learning experience and be glad it didn't cost you more. | ||
| check it out (68.20.11.27) |
Trinity Foundation | TheDoorMagazine Reprinted from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3/02/2003 PROFIT in the pulpit By Darren Barbee Star-Telegram Staff Writer First of three parts Mike Murdock peers into the television camera, seemingly able to see the people watching him. He says he can sense that the poor, the struggling and the lonely have tuned in to his program. "You've got to have a breakthrough," he tells them. Murdock offers the solution to all their problems: Give money to a man of God. Murdock's unwavering message – on his program, at his seminars and in his books – is the Law of the Seed: Plant a seed and reap a harvest from God. The seed can be time, patience, love. But Murdock specializes in encouraging people to give money. In return, Murdock promises, God will restore relationships, heal the body and provide financial salvation. The reward will be 100 times the gift. All of the money, the Denton televangelist says, allows the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. "If any of this money is for Mike Murdock's personal gain," he often says, "may a curse be upon me and my ministry and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." But a six-month Star-Telegram examination shows that the ministry, which Murdock founded as a nonprofit corporation, spends more than 60 percent of its revenue on overhead. Though Murdock says he despises poverty, the ministry's spending for needy families and benevolence is minuscule. For nearly a decade, less than 1 percent of donors' money has been used for such charitable works. On the other hand, the ministry pays Murdock, its 56-year-old president and director, a salary that has helped him maintain a lavish lifestyle that includes Rolex watches, expensive sports cars and exotic animals. In 2000, $3.9 million poured into the ministry, though Murdock's pitch is typically for small amounts. Send $31 a month or $58. Donate $1,000 to "break the back of poverty," he says. Give sacrificially. "You say, 'Mike ... what if I don't have it?' " Murdock says during a November broadcast of his weekly television program Wisdom Keys. God will provide, Murdock answers. Give the money anyway. "Take a step of faith," he says. Murdock has slipped in and out of the public's attention. He made a splash in the early 1980s on The PTL Club television program with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Murdock, untouched by PTL's collapse in scandal, developed his own television ministry. Today, he still frequents the programs of more-successful televangelists, such as faith healer Benny Hinn. In Texas, the public briefly took notice of Murdock's operations in 1998 after a string of women arrived in Argyle believing that he would marry or employ them. Murdock says he misled no one. He later moved the headquarters from Argyle to Denton, where he resumed a largely anonymous local existence. He is detached from the community even as he reaches millions of people through his books, his seminars and Wisdom Keys, seen in at least 50 communities. Though it's unclear how many viewers tune in, the ministry recently bought time on the Black Entertainment Television network, which Murdock said gives the show a potential viewership of 72 million households. Murdock would not agree to an interview with the Star-Telegram unless everything he said was printed verbatim. The televangelist labels as "satanic" anyone who examines the ministry's operations. And if others question his extravagant lifestyle – or compare it with the humble existence of some of the ministry's staff members – he says they are attacking his theology. Since the Star-Telegram began to examine the ministry, Murdock has shaken it up. He recently announced that his brother John Murdock left the board after years and was replaced by ministry staff pastor Dean Holsinger. Mike Murdock fired the ministry's accountants of about 10 years – Doris and James Couch. Doris Couch also left the board. Murdock hired new accountants and an attorney experienced in nonprofit organizations and asked for an audit of his operations. In December, Murdock sent letters to those on the ministry's mailing list, saying the association was supporting 1,000 children in Mexico. On his TV show, he started talking more about the luxuries at his disposal. He also began explaining his background, such as why "Dr. Mike Murdock" left Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie before receiving a degree. Recently, on an audiocassette offered to donors, Murdock acknowledged that some ministry paperwork contained errors. On the tape, The School of Adversity, he blamed the staff for not carrying out his orders. "What I'm finding out as I travel around the world is that an instruction I gave to somebody three months ago was never followed," Murdock said. The ministry's new attorney, Philip S. Haney of Tulsa, Okla., and new accountants, Chitwood & Chitwood of Chattanooga, Tenn., attributed any problems that might have existed to the former accountants. Some financial information was reported incorrectly to the Internal Revenue Service, said John Walker of Chitwood & Chitwood, who had reviewed only the ministry's most recent data. But the Couches, not Murdock, made the mistakes, Walker said. Murdock doesn't understand such things, Walker said, even though Murdock has written a book for young ministers about how to incorporate and run a ministry and has attended workshops on nonprofit organizations. "He's just going to be kind of like a total innocent dumb preacher," Walker said. "When it comes to this stuff, he's dumb. If you ask him a question, he doesn't know." The ministry released its IRS filings as required by the federal law governing tax-exempt organizations. But staff members have refused to make public its books and financial records as required by the state law governing nonprofit corporations. The accounting firm and the attorney promised to provide the Star-Telegram with any information they had about how the ministry operates. They never did. Murdock likes to describe himself as a "Wal-Mart guy." But a $25,000 Rolex adorns his wrist. And he can shoot hoops on the "NBA-style" basketball court at his estate or take notes with a $4,500 fountain pen. Details of Murdock's lifestyle were pieced together from documents obtained by the Trinity Foundation, a televangelist watchdog group in Dallas; Denton County property-appraisal records; a report of a burglary at his home; interviews; and excerpts from his broadcasts and books. They show a man living a Hollywood lifestyle. Murdock says he drives a BMW 745, which typically sells for $69,000 to $75,000. He used to prefer driving a Porsche to the ministry. He has had at his disposal a ministry Corvette, Jaguar and Mercedes, Lincoln Continentals and, since August, a corporate jet valued at $300,000 to $500,000. Murdock lives in a Spanish-style, 3,177-square-foot adobe house that he calls Hacienda de Paz – or "House of Peace." He, not the ministry, owns it. Mike Murdock often speaks about the poverty of his childhood. "I have a Ph.D. in sucking chicken necks," he has jokes. Now he lives in this nearly 7-acre estate east of argyle. On the grounds, he has kept exotic animals, including a lion and a monkey. He also had 24 speakers wired in trees so he could hear gospel music everywhere on the estate. Also on the grounds is a 1,660-square-foot building whose use is unclear. The 6.8-acre estate, east of Argyle, was valued at $482,027 by the Denton Central Appraisal District in 2002, documents show. Few get a good view of the estate. It is protected by a black wrought-iron fence. The gates are monogrammed with two M's – his initials. On the well-kept grounds, a path winds near a tennis court and two of at least four gazebos on the property. At various times, Murdock has had a camel, an antelope, a donkey, ducks, geese, a lion and dogs. Near one edge of his property, he once kept llamas in a paddock. He has also had koi and catfish at the estate. He had 24 speakers wired in trees so he could hear gospel music everywhere on the grounds, he said during a 1998 broadcast. Inside his home, Murdock has had several fish tanks, including a large saltwater aquarium. In the gym, Murdock can work out with his personal trainer. He can relax in front of his home theater or in a Jacuzzi. And he can enjoy the fountains in his pool and living room. Murdock once kept coin and jewelry collections valued at $125,000. He reported the information to the Denton County Sheriff's Department after a theft. Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Patton said investigators dropped the case because Murdock would not list what had been stolen. Murdock has a second Rolex watch, besides the $25,000 one he often wears, he said during an appearance Oct. 19 in Grapevine. He didn't state its value. Murdock has said he was given the watches, expensive suits, several Chevrolet Corvettes, the BMW and a rare Vetta Ventura sports car – one of 19 made. Faith on wheels Mike Murdock, president and director of the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association, has had several luxury vehicles at his disposal. Some belong to him, and some are owned by the ministry. The BMW, work at least $69,000, was a gift, Murdock says, while the ministry bought the Jaguar. He says he got an idea that allowed him to buy the Cessna Citation 500, worth $300,000 to $500,000. Federal Aviation Administration documents show that the jet belongs to the ministry. "May I never have what God has chosen not to give me," Murdock said during the "School of Wisdom" seminar in October in Grapevine. "But may I always have what he wants me to possess." Financial records, however, indicate that his lifestyle could also be the result of the handsome salary he draws from the nonprofit ministry. On the cool, wet day he spoke in Grapevine, Murdock sighed as he lamented the hours he works. "After this kind of week, I'm ready to get a raise," he said. "I [was] figuring out the other day what I get paid for by the hour," Murdock said. "And, and I'm not doing well. I'm not doing well, getting paid for the hours I work." Murdock does not tell his audience how much he is paid, an examination of more than 10 of his books and a cross section of his TV broadcasts and ministry mailings found. But IRS documents filed by the ministry say he averages 40-hour workweeks. He received more than $242,000 – $104,819 in pay and $138,000 in benefits or deferred compensation – in 2000. That year's form listed no expense account for Murdock. That put him above the 90th percentile of managers of similar-sized nonprofit groups, according to GuideStar, a national database operated by the Philanthropic Institute, a nonprofit organization in Williamsburg, Va., that collects IRS data about charities. Murdock receives about $100,000 more in compensation, benefits and expenses than nearly 6,000 executives who oversee similar-sized nonprofit charities, according to a salary survey conducted by GuideStar. His salary soared in the 1990s. From 1983 to 1985, he received an average of $27,912 a year and had no expense account or benefits. That salary was 3.6 percent of the ministry's revenue. From 1993 to 2000, IRS records show his compensation package averaged $241,685 a year, or about 9 percent of the $21,040,299 the ministry took in during that period. The ministry's 2001 IRS form was not available because the association sought additional time to file it. Walker said last month that he could not recall Murdock's current salary. From 1997 to 1999, he drew from a $138,000 annual expense account, although records show that the ministry directly paid some of his expenses, including some travel. By comparison, in 2000, the combined expense accounts for the chief executive officers or directors of the five largest Christian nonprofit organizations – who oversaw a collective $1.5 billion in revenue – was $25,671. In 2000, Millard Fuller, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity, oversaw an organization with $165 million in revenue and was paid $79,800 – $76,000 in salary and $3,800 in contributions to a benefit plan. If he had taken home the same percentage of revenue that Murdock did that year, Fuller would have earned an extra $10 million. Salary comparison In 2000, Mike Murdock received a compensation package that was on a par with that of some of the highest-paid directors of Christian charities in the country. But those executives oversaw a collective $1.5 billion in revenue in 2000. That year, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association brought in $3.9 million. The Internal Revenue Service requires that managers of nonprofit groups be given reasonable compensation, but it does not define reasonable. Organization Revenue CEO salary Benefits Expenses World Vision International $468 million $235,297 $21,608 $6,600 Feed the Children $398 million $115,000 $8,283 none Food for the Poor $236 million $144,197 $23,256 $19,071 Christian Broadcasting Network $217 million $234,927 $23,256 none Habitat for Humanity $165 million $76,000 $3,800 none Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association $3.9 million $104,819 $138,000 none SOURCE: IRS forms, MinistryWatch.com The IRS requires that the compensation of managers of nonprofit groups be reasonable, but it does not define reasonable. Determining what reasonable means is difficult, said Thomas Wolf of Wolf, Keens & Co., a consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass., that specializes in nonprofit corporations. "There are people who make a lot of money in the nonprofit world," said Wolf, author of Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the 21st Century. Craig Couch, who works for the ministry's former accounting firm, said that the association commissioned a salary survey in 2000 and that Murdock's compensation was on a par with that of managers of other nonprofit and for-profit corporations. Typically, trustees have the final say-so in approving the manager's compensation. But Murdock's father and brother, who served on the board, told the Star-Telegram that they did not know his salary. For the past two years, Murdock's salary, as well as salaries of other high-level employees, was set by an outside firm, according to Walker, who couldn't recall its name. That raises the issue of who approved Murdock's salary if the board did not. "That's a conflict of interest of the highest order if nobody decided besides him whether that's fair or not," said Dan Busby, vice president of donor services for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a kind of Christian Better Business Bureau. Early in his ministry, the Rev. Billy Graham relinquished control to a board of directors to help ensure that there would be no conflicts of interest. Graham is a charter member of the evangelical council. In 2000, he received $197,911, including benefits and an expense account, for his work as chairman of the ministry, according to the organization's IRS forms. The ministry's revenue that year was $125 million. While Murdock preaches that ministry employees should prosper, his staff does not share in the abundance. No one earns more than $50,000 a year, according to the most recent IRS forms. Federal and county records show that some ministry employees live in manufactured homes valued at less than $50,000 that they rent or have bought from the ministry. Other longtime employees have lived in apartments. In 1998, when Murdock received $199,784 in salary and $138,000 in expenses, the ministry told at least four employees that it could not pay overtime, according to a memo dated June 17, 1998. The ministry's management decides the pay for low-level employees, Walker said. Ole Anthony, the founder and president of the Trinity Foundation, said Murdock is living a double standard. "He tells his employees they should sacrifice, but he doesn't," Anthony said. "He tells the viewers to buy his books and give to him, but he doesn't give. He's just another cog in the wheel [of televangelism], maximizing self-interest." Murdock himself seems to knock ministers whose generosity ends at their own doorsteps. Ministers have a duty to make sure their staff prospers, he wrote in his book The Three Most Important Things in Your Life. "So, while he enjoys the beautiful luxury of his million dollar home, thousands sit under his ministry who can hardly make their car payment," Murdock wrote. "Their homes are tiny, cramped and uncomfortable." John Murdock said having wealth has made his brother a target. A childhood of poverty, spent largely in Lake Charles, La., taught his brother that a ministry needs money to do the most good, John Murdock said. "Now it's up there where it looks like – 'Well, let's look at this. He shouldn't be making money like that,' " he said. "Why shouldn't he? We understand it with everybody else." In 2000, Jeff Leva trusted Mike Murdock enough to pledge $1,000 to the ministry. The 32-year-old Bedford resident, who is studying to be a minister, said Murdock's teachings have blessed his life. Leva said he found a job 45 to 60 days after making the donation. He was sure Murdock used the donation to spread the Gospel. But he did not know specifically how the ministry spends its money. So what happened to the $1,000? Here's what, according to the ministry's IRS forms for 2000: About $623 would have helped pay the ministry's operating costs. About $255 would have gone toward program services – the ministry's mission of spreading the Gospel. About $117 would have been deposited in the ministry's bank account. And about $4 would have been used for what were reported as fund-raising expenses. On IRS forms for the five most recent years available, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association has reported spending about a quarter of its revenue on program services. But much of that was spent to cover the cost of producing books, cassettes and the television program – all of which contained prolonged appeals for money. The ministry didn't classify these expenses as fund-raising costs. As with other expenses, it's up to the preparer to decide what constitutes a fund-raising cost. The ministry's operating costs, which include salaries, supplies, telephones, facilities and printing, consumed about 62 percent of its revenue – far more than what is recommended by several groups that analyze nonprofit organizations' spending. The ministry's finances did not always lean so heavily toward overhead costs. From 1983 to 1985, spending on program services hovered near 58 percent of revenue. Busby, of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, said most organizations in the council spend about 80 percent of their budgets on program services. Among nonprofit corporations with similar purposes, the Murdock ministry falls into the bottom 10 percent for program-services spending, according to an analysis that the Star-Telegram paid GuideStar to conduct. For a comparison, consider Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization in Orlando, Fla., that translates the Bible into "all of the languages where it is needed." In 2000, its budget was $111 million. It spent about 11 percent on overhead and about 5 percent on fund raising. Eighty-four percent went to program services. The World Bible Translation Center in North Richland Hills spent $2,679,463 in 2000, according to the organization's IRS form. It spent about 10 percent on salaries and management, 10 percent on fund raising and 80 percent on program services. Such comparisons are a point of contention among nonprofit organizations, said Chris Hempe, president of MinistryWatch, a watchdog group in Matthews, N.C. IRS instructions say nothing about what constitutes a program-services expense, so it is left to the preparers to decide, Hempe said. "This obviously leaves a lot of room for interpretation and will be unique for every organization," he said. Busby, who reviewed the Murdock ministry's 2000 IRS form at the Star-Telegram's request, said the association has either spent poorly or not considered how the figures will be perceived. The ministry's program-services expenses "would often raise the question in donors' minds concerning the proper use of their donations," Busby said. Several accountants who reviewed the ministry's IRS filings agreed with Busby's assessment. Wolf said some nonprofit "industries," such as symphony orchestras, set standards. "You have to know more about the specific services being provided – how expensive it is to provide that service and how the people are accounting for it," he said. How and why the ministry chose to account for the money as it did are secrets. The Couches, who were also fired as Murdock's personal accountants, declined to talk. But their son, Craig Couch, said comparisons involving the ministry's spending are inappropriate because of the subjectivity of reporting expenses. Couch said that if Murdock was traveling to a church to speak, airfare might be written as a management expense because his traveling was not in itself a program service. He said he did not know why ministry expenses were categorized as they were on the forms. But he said the IRS has never questioned them. Walker said the Couches made mistakes in allocating expenses. Leva's faith in Murdock was unbowed when he learned about the ministry's spending. "If I believe in Mike Murdock, as I do, I'm not going to worry about the numbers," he said. "... It sounds like a majority of that money was re-established into his ministry." But count Evelyn Marie Hill of Buffalo, Mich., among the doubters. She groups Murdock with a number of prosperity teachers who she believes took advantage of her daughter's pain and uncertainty to make a buck. Hill's daughter, Pamela Hill, who is now deceased, had gone through a divorce and was trying to raise a son by herself, her mother said. After her daughter began giving to ministers including Murdock, Evelyn Hill had to help support her daughter and her grandson. "Yet they're living high on the hog," Hill said. " ... They have to have their private planes to fly here and there." Murdock's eyes flinch and close in lamentation. He tells Wisdom Keys viewers that he has seen suffering orphans in Manila, Philippines, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. "I'm right now researching a new part of our ministry I'm excited about a lot," he said on the Jan. 21 show. "I've always wanted to have an orphanage, from the time I was a kid." Murdock began preaching in 1966 at age 19. The Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association was established as a nonprofit organization in 1973 in Lake Charles, La., by Murdock and then-wife Linda Murdock. The ministry is apparently in good financial health. For most of the 1990s, it received more money than it spent. At the same time, its support of the needy was less than 1 percent of revenue, according to IRS forms. In 2000, when the ministry received $3,858,637, it spent $2,056 on "needy families and benevolence." That same year, it spent $65,348 on flowers and gifts. At year's end, the ministry had $451,805 more revenue than expenses, money that a nonprofit group can use to build reserves or save for other purposes. The ministry's giving that year was not an anomaly. In 1999, the ministry spent $24,990, but that amount still represented a tiny part of its revenue – $2,955,011. In 1998, it spent $2,257 on "needy families and benevolence" out of $2,644,681 in revenue. The IRS reports aside, friends and relatives say Murdock has always given generously to others. John Murdock said his brother has put much of what he has made back into the ministry. "He's given lots of money to people you'll never know about," he said. Mike Murdock has said the ministry gives money to the Marion Zirkle Children's Ministry, which operates a children's foundation in Guatemala. Apparently, that is the ministry listed on the IRS forms as "the Marion Zirkie Ministry." In 2000, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association allocated $2,700 to the children's ministry; in 1999, $625; and in 1998, $700. Some of the other ministries or churches listed as having received allocations said the money was for services provided. Others said it was a gift. Thomas De La Garza, whose ministry is listed as having received $14,000 in 2000, said he was personally paid the money for singing and appearing at seminars. Also on the list was Murdock's father, who was shown as having received $13,250 in 2000. David Holton, a childhood friend, said that about 18 years ago, Mike Murdock telephoned him unexpectedly and gave him $5,000. Holton said he did not know whether the money was from Murdock or the ministry. "I hadn't seen him in 12 years," said Holton, who is the pastor of an International Pentecostal Holiness church in Jonesboro, La. "I hadn't even talked to him. He just felt impressed to do it." At the time, Holton said, he was struggling with debt and trying to start a church. "He set me back on my feet again," Holton said. "He's done that for more than one person, probably a lot of people." Murdock has no time for critics, he often says. They despise his decisions because they disagree with his goals, he says. And paperwork is useless in testing whether an organization or a person is trustworthy, he says. "You can't prove integrity. You can't prove integrity. It has to be discerned." True to his word, he said he had no time to discuss the ministry's finances or its work. But Murdock says he is not responsible for the accuracy of information prepared by others at the ministry. At the "School of Wisdom" seminar in October, he seemed to distance himself from the ministry's finances, saying accountant Doris Couch had overseen them. "Her and her CPAs, they know more about my money than I do," he said. The ministry's new accounting firm paints a similar picture. Walker said Murdock has had limited control over the ministry's finances. Walker also said that Couch had signed all the ministry's checks and that Murdock had nothing to do with them. But Craig Couch said the only checks his mother signed were for payroll. "I would say that, in a general sense, anyone is accountable for their own organization," Couch said. "... Whether it's for Mike Murdock or any of our accounting clients, we give that information to them. They certainly have a responsibility [to make sure] the information is true and accurate." Ministry memos indicate that Murdock signed off on at least some expenses and was constantly informed about nearly every aspect of operations. On April 30, 1998, then-general manager Matti Cook-Smith wrote to Murdock that she "met with [ministry bookkeepers] ... and dictated memo concerning checks being authorized by you or I before being issued and issuing expense check to person doing spending." An organization's trustees are ultimately responsible for information submitted to the IRS, Wolf and others said. Mike Murdock; his father, the Rev. J.E. Murdock; and his brother John Murdock served as trustees of the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association for the past several years – sometimes as the only ones. Mike Murdock's signature is on the ministry's IRS forms. On a recent audiocassette, Murdock said his busy schedule had left him out of touch with the details of the ministry's operations. He said he had consulted with an accounting firm, which told him that the problems were merely a few words out of place on the IRS forms. "They said, 'Mike, this piece of information has not been entered on the right document. This is the wrong phrase for this. In fact, this particular word should not have been used,' " Murdock said. The public should be able to look at the ministry's financial statements to find out about its finances. According to Article 1396-2.23A of the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, "All records, books, and annual reports of the financial activity of the corporation ... shall be available to the public for inspection and copying ... during normal business hours." A corporation that fails to comply with this is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. But the ministry has repeatedly refused to release the information. Haney, the ministry's tax attorney, said in December that the public is probably entitled to see the documents. Chitwood & Chitwood is auditing the ministry and trying to sort through other issues, Walker said. "We're going to clean this ministry out," he said last month. Once everything has been straightened out, the ministry's records will be released, Walker said. Some other religious nonprofit corporations pride themselves on providing financial information to donors. On the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Web site, a visitor can find detailed financial information, including its IRS forms and audited financial statements. The IRS does not require disclosure of the information, but the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability requires its members to make it available. The Murdock ministry is not a member of the council. Murdock and his staff apparently view with suspicion anyone who asks to see financial documents. In an April 1997 newsletter, Murdock describes an incident in which a man tried to look at those documents at the ministry's headquarters. "I find it interesting, strange, significant ... and demonic," Murdock wrote. "... He left memories of rudeness and claimed, 'by law you can't refuse me anything I am asking for.' "... I believe there is no trap or pit Satan will not try to find ... to distract and break the focus of men of God of this generation." Murdock does not say whether the ministry complied with the man's request. During his Dec. 11 broadcast, Murdock seemed to take up the issue of financial disclosure. Critics might nitpick paperwork problems, he said, but his work is on a higher level than documentation. "Men of God can go on television and speak and preach and pour their hearts out and work, write books, trying to help people be conscious of God," Murdock said. "And you will have people try to find anything, any flaw. ... 'Did they make a mistake here? Did they file the wrong insurance papers, the wrong government papers? Did they hire somebody they shouldn't have hired? What did they do wrong?' " He said such adversaries create opportunities for the godly. "Without Goliath, David is just a shepherd boy," he said. MINISTRIES BUYING JAGUARS AND PLANES WITH YOUR MONEY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||
| check it out (68.20.11.27) |
Trinity Foundation | TheDoorMagazine Reprinted from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3/02/2003 PROFIT in the pulpit By Darren Barbee Star-Telegram Staff Writer First of three parts Mike Murdock peers into the television camera, seemingly able to see the people watching him. He says he can sense that the poor, the struggling and the lonely have tuned in to his program. "You've got to have a breakthrough," he tells them. Murdock offers the solution to all their problems: Give money to a man of God. Murdock's unwavering message – on his program, at his seminars and in his books – is the Law of the Seed: Plant a seed and reap a harvest from God. The seed can be time, patience, love. But Murdock specializes in encouraging people to give money. In return, Murdock promises, God will restore relationships, heal the body and provide financial salvation. The reward will be 100 times the gift. All of the money, the Denton televangelist says, allows the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association to spread the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. "If any of this money is for Mike Murdock's personal gain," he often says, "may a curse be upon me and my ministry and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." But a six-month Star-Telegram examination shows that the ministry, which Murdock founded as a nonprofit corporation, spends more than 60 percent of its revenue on overhead. Though Murdock says he despises poverty, the ministry's spending for needy families and benevolence is minuscule. For nearly a decade, less than 1 percent of donors' money has been used for such charitable works. On the other hand, the ministry pays Murdock, its 56-year-old president and director, a salary that has helped him maintain a lavish lifestyle that includes Rolex watches, expensive sports cars and exotic animals. In 2000, $3.9 million poured into the ministry, though Murdock's pitch is typically for small amounts. Send $31 a month or $58. Donate $1,000 to "break the back of poverty," he says. Give sacrificially. "You say, 'Mike ... what if I don't have it?' " Murdock says during a November broadcast of his weekly television program Wisdom Keys. God will provide, Murdock answers. Give the money anyway. "Take a step of faith," he says. Murdock has slipped in and out of the public's attention. He made a splash in the early 1980s on The PTL Club television program with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Murdock, untouched by PTL's collapse in scandal, developed his own television ministry. Today, he still frequents the programs of more-successful televangelists, such as faith healer Benny Hinn. In Texas, the public briefly took notice of Murdock's operations in 1998 after a string of women arrived in Argyle believing that he would marry or employ them. Murdock says he misled no one. He later moved the headquarters from Argyle to Denton, where he resumed a largely anonymous local existence. He is detached from the community even as he reaches millions of people through his books, his seminars and Wisdom Keys, seen in at least 50 communities. Though it's unclear how many viewers tune in, the ministry recently bought time on the Black Entertainment Television network, which Murdock said gives the show a potential viewership of 72 million households. Murdock would not agree to an interview with the Star-Telegram unless everything he said was printed verbatim. The televangelist labels as "satanic" anyone who examines the ministry's operations. And if others question his extravagant lifestyle – or compare it with the humble existence of some of the ministry's staff members – he says they are attacking his theology. Since the Star-Telegram began to examine the ministry, Murdock has shaken it up. He recently announced that his brother John Murdock left the board after years and was replaced by ministry staff pastor Dean Holsinger. Mike Murdock fired the ministry's accountants of about 10 years – Doris and James Couch. Doris Couch also left the board. Murdock hired new accountants and an attorney experienced in nonprofit organizations and asked for an audit of his operations. In December, Murdock sent letters to those on the ministry's mailing list, saying the association was supporting 1,000 children in Mexico. On his TV show, he started talking more about the luxuries at his disposal. He also began explaining his background, such as why "Dr. Mike Murdock" left Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie before receiving a degree. Recently, on an audiocassette offered to donors, Murdock acknowledged that some ministry paperwork contained errors. On the tape, The School of Adversity, he blamed the staff for not carrying out his orders. "What I'm finding out as I travel around the world is that an instruction I gave to somebody three months ago was never followed," Murdock said. The ministry's new attorney, Philip S. Haney of Tulsa, Okla., and new accountants, Chitwood & Chitwood of Chattanooga, Tenn., attributed any problems that might have existed to the former accountants. Some financial information was reported incorrectly to the Internal Revenue Service, said John Walker of Chitwood & Chitwood, who had reviewed only the ministry's most recent data. But the Couches, not Murdock, made the mistakes, Walker said. Murdock doesn't understand such things, Walker said, even though Murdock has written a book for young ministers about how to incorporate and run a ministry and has attended workshops on nonprofit organizations. "He's just going to be kind of like a total innocent dumb preacher," Walker said. "When it comes to this stuff, he's dumb. If you ask him a question, he doesn't know." The ministry released its IRS filings as required by the federal law governing tax-exempt organizations. But staff members have refused to make public its books and financial records as required by the state law governing nonprofit corporations. The accounting firm and the attorney promised to provide the Star-Telegram with any information they had about how the ministry operates. They never did. Murdock likes to describe himself as a "Wal-Mart guy." But a $25,000 Rolex adorns his wrist. And he can shoot hoops on the "NBA-style" basketball court at his estate or take notes with a $4,500 fountain pen. Details of Murdock's lifestyle were pieced together from documents obtained by the Trinity Foundation, a televangelist watchdog group in Dallas; Denton County property-appraisal records; a report of a burglary at his home; interviews; and excerpts from his broadcasts and books. They show a man living a Hollywood lifestyle. Murdock says he drives a BMW 745, which typically sells for $69,000 to $75,000. He used to prefer driving a Porsche to the ministry. He has had at his disposal a ministry Corvette, Jaguar and Mercedes, Lincoln Continentals and, since August, a corporate jet valued at $300,000 to $500,000. Murdock lives in a Spanish-style, 3,177-square-foot adobe house that he calls Hacienda de Paz – or "House of Peace." He, not the ministry, owns it. Mike Murdock often speaks about the poverty of his childhood. "I have a Ph.D. in sucking chicken necks," he has jokes. Now he lives in this nearly 7-acre estate east of argyle. On the grounds, he has kept exotic animals, including a lion and a monkey. He also had 24 speakers wired in trees so he could hear gospel music everywhere on the estate. Also on the grounds is a 1,660-square-foot building whose use is unclear. The 6.8-acre estate, east of Argyle, was valued at $482,027 by the Denton Central Appraisal District in 2002, documents show. Few get a good view of the estate. It is protected by a black wrought-iron fence. The gates are monogrammed with two M's – his initials. On the well-kept grounds, a path winds near a tennis court and two of at least four gazebos on the property. At various times, Murdock has had a camel, an antelope, a donkey, ducks, geese, a lion and dogs. Near one edge of his property, he once kept llamas in a paddock. He has also had koi and catfish at the estate. He had 24 speakers wired in trees so he could hear gospel music everywhere on the grounds, he said during a 1998 broadcast. Inside his home, Murdock has had several fish tanks, including a large saltwater aquarium. In the gym, Murdock can work out with his personal trainer. He can relax in front of his home theater or in a Jacuzzi. And he can enjoy the fountains in his pool and living room. Murdock once kept coin and jewelry collections valued at $125,000. He reported the information to the Denton County Sheriff's Department after a theft. Sheriff's spokesman Kevin Patton said investigators dropped the case because Murdock would not list what had been stolen. Murdock has a second Rolex watch, besides the $25,000 one he often wears, he said during an appearance Oct. 19 in Grapevine. He didn't state its value. Murdock has said he was given the watches, expensive suits, several Chevrolet Corvettes, the BMW and a rare Vetta Ventura sports car – one of 19 made. Faith on wheels Mike Murdock, president and director of the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association, has had several luxury vehicles at his disposal. Some belong to him, and some are owned by the ministry. The BMW, work at least $69,000, was a gift, Murdock says, while the ministry bought the Jaguar. He says he got an idea that allowed him to buy the Cessna Citation 500, worth $300,000 to $500,000. Federal Aviation Administration documents show that the jet belongs to the ministry. "May I never have what God has chosen not to give me," Murdock said during the "School of Wisdom" seminar in October in Grapevine. "But may I always have what he wants me to possess." Financial records, however, indicate that his lifestyle could also be the result of the handsome salary he draws from the nonprofit ministry. On the cool, wet day he spoke in Grapevine, Murdock sighed as he lamented the hours he works. "After this kind of week, I'm ready to get a raise," he said. "I [was] figuring out the other day what I get paid for by the hour," Murdock said. "And, and I'm not doing well. I'm not doing well, getting paid for the hours I work." Murdock does not tell his audience how much he is paid, an examination of more than 10 of his books and a cross section of his TV broadcasts and ministry mailings found. But IRS documents filed by the ministry say he averages 40-hour workweeks. He received more than $242,000 – $104,819 in pay and $138,000 in benefits or deferred compensation – in 2000. That year's form listed no expense account for Murdock. That put him above the 90th percentile of managers of similar-sized nonprofit groups, according to GuideStar, a national database operated by the Philanthropic Institute, a nonprofit organization in Williamsburg, Va., that collects IRS data about charities. Murdock receives about $100,000 more in compensation, benefits and expenses than nearly 6,000 executives who oversee similar-sized nonprofit charities, according to a salary survey conducted by GuideStar. His salary soared in the 1990s. From 1983 to 1985, he received an average of $27,912 a year and had no expense account or benefits. That salary was 3.6 percent of the ministry's revenue. From 1993 to 2000, IRS records show his compensation package averaged $241,685 a year, or about 9 percent of the $21,040,299 the ministry took in during that period. The ministry's 2001 IRS form was not available because the association sought additional time to file it. Walker said last month that he could not recall Murdock's current salary. From 1997 to 1999, he drew from a $138,000 annual expense account, although records show that the ministry directly paid some of his expenses, including some travel. By comparison, in 2000, the combined expense accounts for the chief executive officers or directors of the five largest Christian nonprofit organizations – who oversaw a collective $1.5 billion in revenue – was $25,671. In 2000, Millard Fuller, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity, oversaw an organization with $165 million in revenue and was paid $79,800 – $76,000 in salary and $3,800 in contributions to a benefit plan. If he had taken home the same percentage of revenue that Murdock did that year, Fuller would have earned an extra $10 million. Salary comparison In 2000, Mike Murdock received a compensation package that was on a par with that of some of the highest-paid directors of Christian charities in the country. But those executives oversaw a collective $1.5 billion in revenue in 2000. That year, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association brought in $3.9 million. The Internal Revenue Service requires that managers of nonprofit groups be given reasonable compensation, but it does not define reasonable. Organization Revenue CEO salary Benefits Expenses World Vision International $468 million $235,297 $21,608 $6,600 Feed the Children $398 million $115,000 $8,283 none Food for the Poor $236 million $144,197 $23,256 $19,071 Christian Broadcasting Network $217 million $234,927 $23,256 none Habitat for Humanity $165 million $76,000 $3,800 none Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association $3.9 million $104,819 $138,000 none SOURCE: IRS forms, MinistryWatch.com The IRS requires that the compensation of managers of nonprofit groups be reasonable, but it does not define reasonable. Determining what reasonable means is difficult, said Thomas Wolf of Wolf, Keens & Co., a consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass., that specializes in nonprofit corporations. "There are people who make a lot of money in the nonprofit world," said Wolf, author of Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the 21st Century. Craig Couch, who works for the ministry's former accounting firm, said that the association commissioned a salary survey in 2000 and that Murdock's compensation was on a par with that of managers of other nonprofit and for-profit corporations. Typically, trustees have the final say-so in approving the manager's compensation. But Murdock's father and brother, who served on the board, told the Star-Telegram that they did not know his salary. For the past two years, Murdock's salary, as well as salaries of other high-level employees, was set by an outside firm, according to Walker, who couldn't recall its name. That raises the issue of who approved Murdock's salary if the board did not. "That's a conflict of interest of the highest order if nobody decided besides him whether that's fair or not," said Dan Busby, vice president of donor services for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a kind of Christian Better Business Bureau. Early in his ministry, the Rev. Billy Graham relinquished control to a board of directors to help ensure that there would be no conflicts of interest. Graham is a charter member of the evangelical council. In 2000, he received $197,911, including benefits and an expense account, for his work as chairman of the ministry, according to the organization's IRS forms. The ministry's revenue that year was $125 million. While Murdock preaches that ministry employees should prosper, his staff does not share in the abundance. No one earns more than $50,000 a year, according to the most recent IRS forms. Federal and county records show that some ministry employees live in manufactured homes valued at less than $50,000 that they rent or have bought from the ministry. Other longtime employees have lived in apartments. In 1998, when Murdock received $199,784 in salary and $138,000 in expenses, the ministry told at least four employees that it could not pay overtime, according to a memo dated June 17, 1998. The ministry's management decides the pay for low-level employees, Walker said. Ole Anthony, the founder and president of the Trinity Foundation, said Murdock is living a double standard. "He tells his employees they should sacrifice, but he doesn't," Anthony said. "He tells the viewers to buy his books and give to him, but he doesn't give. He's just another cog in the wheel [of televangelism], maximizing self-interest." Murdock himself seems to knock ministers whose generosity ends at their own doorsteps. Ministers have a duty to make sure their staff prospers, he wrote in his book The Three Most Important Things in Your Life. "So, while he enjoys the beautiful luxury of his million dollar home, thousands sit under his ministry who can hardly make their car payment," Murdock wrote. "Their homes are tiny, cramped and uncomfortable." John Murdock said having wealth has made his brother a target. A childhood of poverty, spent largely in Lake Charles, La., taught his brother that a ministry needs money to do the most good, John Murdock said. "Now it's up there where it looks like – 'Well, let's look at this. He shouldn't be making money like that,' " he said. "Why shouldn't he? We understand it with everybody else." In 2000, Jeff Leva trusted Mike Murdock enough to pledge $1,000 to the ministry. The 32-year-old Bedford resident, who is studying to be a minister, said Murdock's teachings have blessed his life. Leva said he found a job 45 to 60 days after making the donation. He was sure Murdock used the donation to spread the Gospel. But he did not know specifically how the ministry spends its money. So what happened to the $1,000? Here's what, according to the ministry's IRS forms for 2000: About $623 would have helped pay the ministry's operating costs. About $255 would have gone toward program services – the ministry's mission of spreading the Gospel. About $117 would have been deposited in the ministry's bank account. And about $4 would have been used for what were reported as fund-raising expenses. On IRS forms for the five most recent years available, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association has reported spending about a quarter of its revenue on program services. But much of that was spent to cover the cost of producing books, cassettes and the television program – all of which contained prolonged appeals for money. The ministry didn't classify these expenses as fund-raising costs. As with other expenses, it's up to the preparer to decide what constitutes a fund-raising cost. The ministry's operating costs, which include salaries, supplies, telephones, facilities and printing, consumed about 62 percent of its revenue – far more than what is recommended by several groups that analyze nonprofit organizations' spending. The ministry's finances did not always lean so heavily toward overhead costs. From 1983 to 1985, spending on program services hovered near 58 percent of revenue. Busby, of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, said most organizations in the council spend about 80 percent of their budgets on program services. Among nonprofit corporations with similar purposes, the Murdock ministry falls into the bottom 10 percent for program-services spending, according to an analysis that the Star-Telegram paid GuideStar to conduct. For a comparison, consider Wycliffe Bible Translators, an organization in Orlando, Fla., that translates the Bible into "all of the languages where it is needed." In 2000, its budget was $111 million. It spent about 11 percent on overhead and about 5 percent on fund raising. Eighty-four percent went to program services. The World Bible Translation Center in North Richland Hills spent $2,679,463 in 2000, according to the organization's IRS form. It spent about 10 percent on salaries and management, 10 percent on fund raising and 80 percent on program services. Such comparisons are a point of contention among nonprofit organizations, said Chris Hempe, president of MinistryWatch, a watchdog group in Matthews, N.C. IRS instructions say nothing about what constitutes a program-services expense, so it is left to the preparers to decide, Hempe said. "This obviously leaves a lot of room for interpretation and will be unique for every organization," he said. Busby, who reviewed the Murdock ministry's 2000 IRS form at the Star-Telegram's request, said the association has either spent poorly or not considered how the figures will be perceived. The ministry's program-services expenses "would often raise the question in donors' minds concerning the proper use of their donations," Busby said. Several accountants who reviewed the ministry's IRS filings agreed with Busby's assessment. Wolf said some nonprofit "industries," such as symphony orchestras, set standards. "You have to know more about the specific services being provided – how expensive it is to provide that service and how the people are accounting for it," he said. How and why the ministry chose to account for the money as it did are secrets. The Couches, who were also fired as Murdock's personal accountants, declined to talk. But their son, Craig Couch, said comparisons involving the ministry's spending are inappropriate because of the subjectivity of reporting expenses. Couch said that if Murdock was traveling to a church to speak, airfare might be written as a management expense because his traveling was not in itself a program service. He said he did not know why ministry expenses were categorized as they were on the forms. But he said the IRS has never questioned them. Walker said the Couches made mistakes in allocating expenses. Leva's faith in Murdock was unbowed when he learned about the ministry's spending. "If I believe in Mike Murdock, as I do, I'm not going to worry about the numbers," he said. "... It sounds like a majority of that money was re-established into his ministry." But count Evelyn Marie Hill of Buffalo, Mich., among the doubters. She groups Murdock with a number of prosperity teachers who she believes took advantage of her daughter's pain and uncertainty to make a buck. Hill's daughter, Pamela Hill, who is now deceased, had gone through a divorce and was trying to raise a son by herself, her mother said. After her daughter began giving to ministers including Murdock, Evelyn Hill had to help support her daughter and her grandson. "Yet they're living high on the hog," Hill said. " ... They have to have their private planes to fly here and there." Murdock's eyes flinch and close in lamentation. He tells Wisdom Keys viewers that he has seen suffering orphans in Manila, Philippines, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. "I'm right now researching a new part of our ministry I'm excited about a lot," he said on the Jan. 21 show. "I've always wanted to have an orphanage, from the time I was a kid." Murdock began preaching in 1966 at age 19. The Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association was established as a nonprofit organization in 1973 in Lake Charles, La., by Murdock and then-wife Linda Murdock. The ministry is apparently in good financial health. For most of the 1990s, it received more money than it spent. At the same time, its support of the needy was less than 1 percent of revenue, according to IRS forms. In 2000, when the ministry received $3,858,637, it spent $2,056 on "needy families and benevolence." That same year, it spent $65,348 on flowers and gifts. At year's end, the ministry had $451,805 more revenue than expenses, money that a nonprofit group can use to build reserves or save for other purposes. The ministry's giving that year was not an anomaly. In 1999, the ministry spent $24,990, but that amount still represented a tiny part of its revenue – $2,955,011. In 1998, it spent $2,257 on "needy families and benevolence" out of $2,644,681 in revenue. The IRS reports aside, friends and relatives say Murdock has always given generously to others. John Murdock said his brother has put much of what he has made back into the ministry. "He's given lots of money to people you'll never know about," he said. Mike Murdock has said the ministry gives money to the Marion Zirkle Children's Ministry, which operates a children's foundation in Guatemala. Apparently, that is the ministry listed on the IRS forms as "the Marion Zirkie Ministry." In 2000, the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association allocated $2,700 to the children's ministry; in 1999, $625; and in 1998, $700. Some of the other ministries or churches listed as having received allocations said the money was for services provided. Others said it was a gift. Thomas De La Garza, whose ministry is listed as having received $14,000 in 2000, said he was personally paid the money for singing and appearing at seminars. Also on the list was Murdock's father, who was shown as having received $13,250 in 2000. David Holton, a childhood friend, said that about 18 years ago, Mike Murdock telephoned him unexpectedly and gave him $5,000. Holton said he did not know whether the money was from Murdock or the ministry. "I hadn't seen him in 12 years," said Holton, who is the pastor of an International Pentecostal Holiness church in Jonesboro, La. "I hadn't even talked to him. He just felt impressed to do it." At the time, Holton said, he was struggling with debt and trying to start a church. "He set me back on my feet again," Holton said. "He's done that for more than one person, probably a lot of people." Murdock has no time for critics, he often says. They despise his decisions because they disagree with his goals, he says. And paperwork is useless in testing whether an organization or a person is trustworthy, he says. "You can't prove integrity. You can't prove integrity. It has to be discerned." True to his word, he said he had no time to discuss the ministry's finances or its work. But Murdock says he is not responsible for the accuracy of information prepared by others at the ministry. At the "School of Wisdom" seminar in October, he seemed to distance himself from the ministry's finances, saying accountant Doris Couch had overseen them. "Her and her CPAs, they know more about my money than I do," he said. The ministry's new accounting firm paints a similar picture. Walker said Murdock has had limited control over the ministry's finances. Walker also said that Couch had signed all the ministry's checks and that Murdock had nothing to do with them. But Craig Couch said the only checks his mother signed were for payroll. "I would say that, in a general sense, anyone is accountable for their own organization," Couch said. "... Whether it's for Mike Murdock or any of our accounting clients, we give that information to them. They certainly have a responsibility [to make sure] the information is true and accurate." Ministry memos indicate that Murdock signed off on at least some expenses and was constantly informed about nearly every aspect of operations. On April 30, 1998, then-general manager Matti Cook-Smith wrote to Murdock that she "met with [ministry bookkeepers] ... and dictated memo concerning checks being authorized by you or I before being issued and issuing expense check to person doing spending." An organization's trustees are ultimately responsible for information submitted to the IRS, Wolf and others said. Mike Murdock; his father, the Rev. J.E. Murdock; and his brother John Murdock served as trustees of the Mike Murdock Evangelistic Association for the past several years – sometimes as the only ones. Mike Murdock's signature is on the ministry's IRS forms. On a recent audiocassette, Murdock said his busy schedule had left him out of touch with the details of the ministry's operations. He said he had consulted with an accounting firm, which told him that the problems were merely a few words out of place on the IRS forms. "They said, 'Mike, this piece of information has not been entered on the right document. This is the wrong phrase for this. In fact, this particular word should not have been used,' " Murdock said. The public should be able to look at the ministry's financial statements to find out about its finances. According to Article 1396-2.23A of the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, "All records, books, and annual reports of the financial activity of the corporation ... shall be available to the public for inspection and copying ... during normal business hours." A corporation that fails to comply with this is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. But the ministry has repeatedly refused to release the information. Haney, the ministry's tax attorney, said in December that the public is probably entitled to see the documents. Chitwood & Chitwood is auditing the ministry and trying to sort through other issues, Walker said. "We're going to clean this ministry out," he said last month. Once everything has been straightened out, the ministry's records will be released, Walker said. Some other religious nonprofit corporations pride themselves on providing financial information to donors. On the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Web site, a visitor can find detailed financial information, including its IRS forms and audited financial statements. The IRS does not require disclosure of the information, but the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability requires its members to make it available. The Murdock ministry is not a member of the council. Murdock and his staff apparently view with suspicion anyone who asks to see financial documents. In an April 1997 newsletter, Murdock describes an incident in which a man tried to look at those documents at the ministry's headquarters. "I find it interesting, strange, significant ... and demonic," Murdock wrote. "... He left memories of rudeness and claimed, 'by law you can't refuse me anything I am asking for.' "... I believe there is no trap or pit Satan will not try to find ... to distract and break the focus of men of God of this generation." Murdock does not say whether the ministry complied with the man's request. During his Dec. 11 broadcast, Murdock seemed to take up the issue of financial disclosure. Critics might nitpick paperwork problems, he said, but his work is on a higher level than documentation. "Men of God can go on television and speak and preach and pour their hearts out and work, write books, trying to help people be conscious of God," Murdock said. "And you will have people try to find anything, any flaw. ... 'Did they make a mistake here? Did they file the wrong insurance papers, the wrong government papers? Did they hire somebody they shouldn't have hired? What did they do wrong?' " He said such adversaries create opportunities for the godly. "Without Goliath, David is just a shepherd boy," he said. MINISTRIES BUYING JAGUARS AND PLANES WITH YOUR MONEY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.26.75) |
To Check It Out: Thank you for taking the time to post that article. Of course, it makes me sick to my stomach. One more heist, in the name of Jesus. Don't these people know that they too will someday stand before God and be accountable for their thievery? | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
RE: Don't these people know that they too will someday stand before God and be accountable for their thievery? Good question. How is it possible that anyone could be that blind, and yet Murdock is so bold that he even mocks God with statements like... "If any of this money is for Mike Murdock's personal gain," he often says, "may a curse be upon me and my ministry and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." Obviously, Murdock has hardened his heart to God. The bible warns us about the deceitfulness of riches and instructs us to be content with what God has given us. Murdock has chosen to ignore this warning and has allowed himself to become deceived. Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 1 Timothy 6:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. The sad thing is that Murdock is just one of many who have taken this path. How many lives have been destroyed by these greedy dogs? I pray that the Lord will bring a season of accountability soon. | ||
| HANK (216.183.185.87) |
THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS INFORMATION.I USED TO GO TO A CHURCH WHERE THEY WOULD BRING IN MIKE AND KIM CLEMENT AT DIFFERENT TIMES. I AM SURE GLAD THAT I LEFT THAT CHURCH. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE SINCERE WHEN THEY GO TO THESE CHURCHES AND END UP MORE CONFUSED AFTER GOING THERE. THE LEADERS IN THAT CHURCH THAT I WENT TO WERE BLIND THEMSELVES. ALL THEY NEW WAS THAT THE MONEY KEEP COMING IN. | ||
| OLD BEN (216.183.185.87) |
I ALSO PRAY THAT A SEASON OF ACCOUNTABILITY WILL COME VERY SOON TO THE CHURCH OF AMERICA | ||
| FRED (216.183.185.87) |
YEARS AGO I SENT HIM MONEY AND GOT ON HIS MAILING LIST. ONE OF THE LETTERS HE SENT ME SAID IT IS NOT TIME FOR AN ANSWER FROM GOD YET. HOW COULD ANYONE MASS MAIL A LETTER TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ALL ACROSS AMERICA AND TELL THEM IT IS NOT TIME FOR AN ANSWER YET. I NEW THAT DAY THAT HE WAS A CON MAN. GOOD BUY MIKE NO MORE CASH FROM ME | ||
| Anonymous (64.12.117.20) |
Mike Murdock is a con man. He is a good friend of another con artist preacher, Robb Thompson, Family Harvest Church. Check out Family Harvest Church. It is listed on this web site. Give this man none of your money. | ||
| Anonymous (209.240.205.61) |
You know, its a real shame that not only can you not trust people who say they are "christians" anymore, you can't trust politicians, or anybody. Life has really become almost unbearable dont you agree? I think the rule of thumb these days is, if someone is in the public eye, no matter what the position, they are probably a liar. Im sure there are exceptions. Somewhere. | ||
| Anonymous (198.81.26.106) |
Just my opinion here: I have a number of Mike Murdock's books and believe there is wisdom for living in them. But it is worldly wisdom, one step removed from Norman Vincent Peale or Wayne Dyer. I also watch Joel Osteen some weeks on TV, and it seems to me that he is becoming a "positive/prosperity thinking" preacher (although he does extend a brief invitation to accept Jesus at the end of each telecast). Many of these people are sincere, but they may be sincerely deceived. I say stick to the Bible where doctrinal truth is concerned, not any one teacher. And has anyone else noticed that Jimmy Swaggart is back on national television? | ||
| Anonymous (69.242.21.100) |
I been concerned that alot of pop psychology and self esteem movement has become the main message of many churches, but we do need to get back to basics and preach righteousness repentance along with the gifts of the spirit but with a balance and honest approach. Many of the TV preachers attract people looking for a "pep talk" or "feel good experience" my concern is let us heed the CALL in the book of Rev. to return to our first love,Jesus and make genuine disciples for him not just empty professions that produce no fruit but real converts. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
True Disciples - John 15:8 "My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father." (NLT) True disciples become like their teacher! (Luke 6:40) That means their lives are fruitful. They take on the character of Jesus (Gal. 5:22-23). They also care for people like Jesus does by living sacrificially and redemptively (Phil. 2:5-11). Their Christianity isn't all talk, but it is demonstrated in both word and deed (1 John 3:18). They let the fruit of their lives bring glory to God through the things they do and the way they lives their live (Matthew 5:16). http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/john/1006-wjd.html | ||
| Anonymous (68.253.200.123) |
Mike Murdock is NOT sincerely deceived. I have seen this man in person several times and all that he preaches is to give him money. He is a fraud make no mistake about it. | ||
| Anonymous (198.81.26.106) |
True enough - we don't hear much preaching about repentance these days, do we? It's not popular to suggest that everyone is a sinner and needs a Savior. At least Joel Osteen recites "I repent of my sins" as the first line of the "sinner's prayer" at the end of his telecasts. Still, the "pop" or "positive thinking" preachers do worry me at times. As for Mike Murdock, he has the plan of salvation in his books and on his Web site, and it appears to be theologically sound. So whether or not you like his methods or fund-raising practices, I'll say as Paul did that I am grateful whenever Christ is preached for whatever reason. I've never seen Mike Murdock in person, but would have to say that most of his TV shows (as opposed to his books) seem to be about sending money for one reason or another. Not far from being Robert Tilton. | ||
| Anonymous (69.242.21.100) |
this prosperity theology has taken hold in Nigeria and has messed up some churches there, its also being pushed in Asia . My Prayer; is that the Lord of the harvest will send forth perfect laborers into his harvest | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
RE: So whether or not you like his methods or fund-raising practices, I'll say as Paul did that I am grateful whenever Christ is preached for whatever reason. I think this is about more than just not liking Murdocks fund-raising practices. Murdock is cheating Christians out of their money. He is teaching unscriptural doctrine that is causing great harm in the Body of Christ. He targets those who are in desperate circumstances and tells them that they can buy a miracle if they send him money. And when they don't get the miracle they need, what happens? They lose what little faith they have and become offended at God. Matthew 18:6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck. Don't be deceived, all those who do these things will one day face judgement for all the harm that they have caused in the Body of Christ. | ||
| Anonymous (68.253.189.185) |
The above post is 100% correct. Mike Murdock is out for 1 thing your money! | ||
| Anonymous (198.81.26.106) |
Well, anyone in desperate circumstances who really believes that, by sending any preacher money, their financial circumstances will be reversed, is probably not thinking clearly. At the same time, I completely agree with the Scripture, "Give, and it shall be given unto you..." It is certainly true that many people use this phrase out of context for their own gain. Prosperity theology worries me. The Bible makes it very clear that in this world, we shall have tribulation - and it offers its share of "woes" to the rich. We need only to read the accounts of the apostle Paul to see how a Christian might suffer. But as much as Mike Murdock asks for money, I have also heard him say, quite plainly, "You cannot buy a miracle from God." On that point, he is correct. Cornerstone Television recently had Murdock as a guest on one of its shows (with what amounted to a disclaimer that he was not there as a fund-raiser, but as an evangelist), and I thought his preaching was sound. Some of you may have more personal knowledge of Mike Murdock than I do. Mine is limited to his TV shows and books. I'm not attempting to approve or condemn - just to discuss. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
I think the bible teaches us to be content with what we have. It warns us about the deceitfulness of riches. It instructs those who have been blessed financially in this life to share what they have with those who are in need. I see men like Murdock on TV and I think they teach a different message. I think they teach a wordly message that appeals to the flesh. They talk about 100 fold returns and how God wants us to be rich and they flaunt their extravagent lifestyles. But notice they rarely encourage people to give to help those in need. Instead they almost always encourage people to give to "the man of God" (usually meaning themselves). I have actually heard people that follow this kind of teaching say that it's a waste to give to the poor. That God will bless them more for giving to a man like Murdock. I don't think this is pleasing to God. What does the bible say? Hebrews 13:16 Don't forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God. It's not a sin to be wealthy, provided that you receive your money honestly. But it's also not a sin to be poor. And being poor is not a sign that one lacks faith.... James 2:5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? Sorry but I don't agree that Murdock teaches a bibically sound message. I think he teaches a wordly message and mixes a few scriptures in to make it sound as if it's bibically sound. | ||
| Anonymous (172.143.151.192) |
If a man refers to HIMSELF as a man of God....RUN, he is a blasphemer. | ||
| Anonymous (198.81.26.106) |
"I think the bible teaches us to be content with what we have. It warns us about the deceitfulness of riches. It instructs those who have been blessed financially in this life to share what they have with those who are in need." Absolutely true. "I see men like Murdock on TV and I think they teach a different message. I think they teach a wordly message that appeals to the flesh. They talk about 100 fold returns and how God wants us to be rich and they flaunt their extravagent lifestyles. But notice they rarely encourage people to give to help those in need. Instead they almost always encourage people to give to "the man of God" (usually meaning themselves)." I have noticed Murdock recently making a pitch for something overseas (an orphanage, I believe). This may be in response to the Dallas newspaper report that only a small fraction of his income goes to charitable purposes. "I have actually heard people that follow this kind of teaching say that it's a waste to give to the poor. That God will bless them more for giving to a man like Murdock. I don't think this is pleasing to God." I couldn't agree more. At the same time, I think it is good to help provide for a true man of God. Was it John F. Kennedy who said that, here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own? We help in this by equipping a man of God to do his work. "It's not a sin to be wealthy, provided that you receive your money honestly. But it's also not a sin to be poor. And being poor is not a sign that one lacks faith...." I agree 100%. "Sorry but I don't agree that Murdock teaches a bibically sound message. I think he teaches a wordly message and mixes a few scriptures in to make it sound as if it's bibically sound." You mean "worldly," I think. When Mike Murdock is teaching "wisdom", I do think it is "worldly" wisdom - one step removed from Zig Ziglar or the business-motivational speakers. When he preaches from the Bible, I pay more attention. When he goes into his money-raising spiel, I change the channel. | ||
| Anonymous (24.14.202.85) |
RE: You mean "worldly," I think. When Mike Murdock is teaching "wisdom", I do think it is "worldly" wisdom - one step removed from Zig Ziglar or the business-motivational speakers. When he preaches from the Bible, I pay more attention. When he goes into his money-raising spiel, I change the channel. Yes, thank you. I meant worldly. And I agree with your comparison up to a point... that point being where Murdock represents himself as a man of God and takes up offerings from those who listen to him. Murdock is seriously deceived and he deceives a lot of Christians who listen to him. I prefer to avoid him all together. | ||
| Anonymous (64.12.117.20) |
Last I saw of him, he was pitching the tape and CD series from his "Uncommon Millionaires" conference at a price of (I think) $150. Come on. | ||
| Anonymous (68.72.97.113) |
I went to a church that had these speakers coming in all the time. Mike Murdoch was a regular speaker on an annual basis. Everyone who got around him for the few days he was in town said that he gave them the creeps. He is a phony from the word GO. He showed up a few years ago with a blond bimbo on his arm... about half his age. | ||
| ed (216.183.184.253) |
this guy is a theif, lier, crook, where is god to stop these lying preachers. | ||
| johnie (216.183.184.253) |
Mike Murdock a man of God? a loving caring man of integrity? Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! More like Fraud, Fake, Thief, Con Man. Send him NOTHING!!! | ||
| francis (216.183.184.253) |
Worldchangers or moneychangers? | ||
| Anonymous (216.183.184.253) |
how about the use of buckets for the tithes & offerings ...how does anyone feel about that??? and those that spend 25-35 minutes on the Offering message to coerce people into giving???? then theres messages that tye into giving at the end ,making the people fell guilty or out of Gods will if they don't give | ||
| Anonymous (152.163.101.12) |
I usually send money to those TV preachers who rarely (or never) ask for money on television. Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, David Jeremiah all come to mind. They might include one sentence about "your financial support," or offer a product for sale (like an audio copy of their message), but I never see any wholesale begging. When a televangelist spends half of his show soliciting contributions, that would not seem to be wise stewardship of his program. Essentially, it becomes "Send us money so we can buy more air time to beg more people to send us more money." | ||
| Anonymous (69.242.21.100) |
those that beg make ya wonder"wheres their faith" is their faith in GOd or mens wallets? | ||
| M (69.242.21.100) |
plus if you want to BE BLESSED ? bless others ..OBEY GOD ...theres a song that brags" I'm Blessed" BUT if they READ Deuteronomy 28 CLOSLEY to get the blessing part you must be living a life of OBEDIENCE.. | ||
| ultimate1 (ultimate1) Intermediate Member Username: ultimate1 Post Number: 285 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.165.157.160 |
READ THIS PROOF! Here's the link: to a recent article full of DOCUMENTED IRS records, cashed checks, accounting records Proof in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star featuring Mike Murdock and his best friend Robb Thompson's crazy spending of money they collect from their offering buckets. (Poor stewardship gone nuts) http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 Dec 15th, 2004 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star newspaper Here's an interesting article that speaks about thompson and his best scheming friend Mike Murdock's spending, including proof and how he and Robb Thompson have exchanged huge "gifts" including Thompson giving Murdock $70,000 BMW's, trading $25,000 cash gifts $15,000 cash house payment gifts for "birthday" presents while people in their congregations and organizations are starving. Also Mike Murdocks son Jason Murdock, 27, is quoted stating "people question his father's methods as well as his fast cars, expensive jewelry and estate in Argyle, where he has kept exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion." "Sometimes his lavishness is a little crazy," Jason Murdock said. "Who needs an African lion for a pet?" We are called by God to be good stewards. Wasting his provision to feed some egomaniac like thompson and Murdock''s ridiculous spending and Rolex/Muller wristwatch habit is not what God expects of us. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the ministries money that these two fools WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $80,000 Lexus and on and on.??? Think twice and seek God's wisdom before sending these Financial Abusive charlatans any of your money. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the money these two WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $68,000 Lexus and on and on.??? http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 | ||
| ultimate1 (ultimate1) Intermediate Member Username: ultimate1 Post Number: 301 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.165.157.160 |
Hey everyone Check out what the law says, Murdock should be losing his tax exempt status and getting fitted for designer prisonwear. "The Internal Revenue Service grants tax-exempt status to organizations whose activities further charitable, educational, religious or other exempt purposes. The organizations' activities must be directed exclusively toward those goals. The activities may not serve the private interests of any individual. Nor can they give a financial advantage to the organization's insiders -- a practice known as inurement. Practices such as paying unreasonable compensation or transferring property to insiders for less than its fair market value violate the law. Any amount of inurement, even $1, is grounds for losing tax-exempt status, the IRS says. - SOURCE: IRS Publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations | ||
| billiefan2000 (billiefan2000) New member Username: billiefan2000 Post Number: 23 Registered: 2-2005 Posted From: 67.130.119.210 |
ultimate1,I agree but it wont happen Cause the Christian Community dont have the spine any more to be outraged at false teachers | ||
| ultimate1 (ultimate1) Intermediate Member Username: ultimate1 Post Number: 312 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.165.157.160 |
billiefan2000 are you a prophet and can you read minds of all people. The media will eat this up. It just takes some people making a few calls and writing the letters to the tax exempt dept below: NOTE: The Murdock organization, a ministry, church or anyone in order to obtain a 501C3 non profit status must have in their by-laws and practices that no person may personnaly profit from this! NOTE: Give them as much factual information as you can. They need any help you may supply. Mention the website and show the article above also. . .at this site link http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 You may write the letter and not sign it or explain why you do not wish to sign (persecution)it they understand. The only reason you would sign it, IS if you want to be contacted, or told of the investigation, or... you have the ability to give them more information. The department you write to is the: Tax Exempt/Government Entities address as below. ADDRESS: Internal Revenue T.E./G.E. Room 4010 P. O. Box 2508 Cincinatti, Ohio 45201 | ||
| mevaci7hotmailcom (mevaci7hotmailcom) New member Username: mevaci7hotmailcom Post Number: 1 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 66.73.253.110 |
I really feel that there is so much controversy with religion, it will never end...for example I just read that Pepsi is taking "In God We Trust" off of the new can they are creating for their anniversary. That way they won't offend anyone...guess what! Mike Murdock in my opinion regardless of what people want to think, is a brilliant business man. He is making the money, not a lot of us. He is not doing it selling drugs or pornographic material...he is giving hope to people who may have never had it to begin with. If a person donates their money for a cause and it makes them feel good I repeat, makes them feel good, why does it matter where it is going. If the person has it to give then let them give. It is not our job to judge. We should look within ourselves to be better people and stop pointing the finger...life is too short! Feel free to reply, I am always open to being advised. | ||
| cybermom (cybermom) Member Username: cybermom Post Number: 54 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.164.240.21 |
"If the person has it to give then let them give." I feel this is the problem with people like Mike Murdock. I have heard him and others like him encourage people to give their rent or grocery money or car payments to them as "seed". And many do. Just read "Toxic Faith" by Steve Arterburn to see why this is wrong. It is not judging to see and state that some "preacher" is fleecing the flock just to line his own pockets and support his ridiculously extravagant lifestyle. Especially when it is at the expense of people who need to use that money to feed or clothe their families. That "preacher" is wrong, and in sin. | ||
| ultimate1 (ultimate1) Intermediate Member Username: ultimate1 Post Number: 395 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.251 |
READ THIS PROOF! Check out what Murdock spends your money on. Here's the link: to a recent article full of DOCUMENTED IRS records, cashed checks, accounting records Proof in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star featuring Mike Murdock and his best friend Robb Thompson's crazy spending of money they collect from their offering buckets. (Poor stewardship gone nuts) http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 Dec 15th, 2004 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star newspaper Here's an interesting article that speaks about thompson and his best scheming friend Mike Murdock's spending, including proof and how he and Robb Thompson have exchanged huge "gifts" including Thompson giving Murdock $70,000 BMW's, trading $25,000 cash gifts $15,000 cash house payment gifts for "birthday" presents while people in their congregations and organizations are starving. Also Mike Murdocks son Jason Murdock, 27, is quoted stating "people question his father's methods as well as his fast cars, expensive jewelry and estate in Argyle, where he has kept exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion." "Sometimes his lavishness is a little crazy," Jason Murdock said. "Who needs an African lion for a pet?" We are called by God to be good stewards. Wasting his provision to feed some egomaniac like thompson and Murdock''s ridiculous spending and Rolex/Muller wristwatch habit is not what God expects of us. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the ministries money that these two fools WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $80,000 Lexus and on and on.??? Think twice and seek God's wisdom before sending these Financial Abusive charlatans any of your money. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the money these two WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $68,000 Lexus and on and on.??? http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 | ||
| marta (marta) Intermediate Member Username: marta Post Number: 221 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.173.58.215 |
RE: If the person has it to give then let them give. mevaci7hotmailcom, Many that send money to people like Mike Murdock do not "have it to give", instead they are in desperate situations and have been fooled into thinking that they can some how buy a miracle from God. I encourage you to read the following article, it might give you a different perspective on the problem. TELEVANGELIST INVESTIGATIONS Corruption in Televangelism and Paganism in the American Church By Ole Anthony President, Trinity Foundation, Inc. "We found these TV and radio evangelists are vying for a donor pool of about five million people. Fifty-five percent of these people are elderly women. Another 35 percent is made up of what we call the desperation pool. These are the poorest and neediest members of society.-- those whose child has AIDS, whose spouse has cancer, those about to be homeless, those who are experiencing the worst kinds of suffering. Some are so needy that they often send in their food stamps or their wedding rings. The remaining 10 percent are those who might be classified as upper-middle class, who want a spiritual justification for their greed. " http://www.trinityfi.org/trinity/investi.html | ||
| anonymous202 (anonymous202) New member Username: anonymous202 Post Number: 1 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 66.115.120.160 |
I attended the Wisdom Center at Haltom City, March 13, with a friend of mine. While he made his rounds "ushering" and helping Murdock, I was left sitting in a rather large room observing people come in and out. While I was sitting there, I was given about 20 pamphlets with Murdocks' face on them all asking for "seed money", or to buy his large font one chapter "books", pamphlets for $20 each. When it was time for the actual "church" service, all he did was ask for money. My friend has been brain washed into believing this ideology that Murdock preaches on tv and at his Wisdom "Training" Center. In actuallity, if you look at how the money is being generated as far as seed offerings and such, it reminds me of a pyramid scheme, or one of those MLM - multi level marketing programs. One listener, or member of his church sends $58 monthly, for "God's" blessing, and by being a member you will be expected to contribute more and more the longer you are there. Personally, I believe you should not have to pay anyone to receive a blessing. Religion is free of charge. Unless you are called by God to donate money. | ||
| marta (marta) Intermediate Member Username: marta Post Number: 240 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.173.58.215 |
Acts 8: 18-24 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! "You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. "Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. "For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." But Simon answered and said, "Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me." | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Junior Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 28 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.30.151 |
Hi Marta, Great post. This is exactly the Scripture that came to mind when Mike Murdock was introducing Joyce Meyer as a guest speaker a few years back at Family Harvest Church. In a cleverly concealed way, he was offering her “anointing” for sale to those willing to give the largest financial “seed”. Among other things, like some kind of an “anointing merchant”, he’s tries to sell “anointings” to as many “Simons” out there that he can find. What many people have no clue of is how these men really get their money. If you think about it, probably the majority of people enjoy finding out how a card trick, a stage illusion or a sleight of hand “magic” trick really works. But few professing Christians, namely the devoted fans and groupies of the televangelists and their offspring, seem very interested at all in how their money preacher mentors REALLY get their money. In order to get what they have, it is fairly logical to assume that you would need to do what they do. Logically, you would need to set up a pulpit just like they have done and attract a groups of devout followers to fall in love with you as well. Scripturally, this is known as drawing men away to yourself. Of course, you could get your money in other creative ways, but it is illogical to assume that you can simply get money by giving your money away, when these men get their money by cleverly convincing others to give to them. These men and women, known in some circles as “the money preachers’, give the distinct impression that God has dropped bags of money from heaven on their front porch and God will do the same for you if you just give your money to them. But this is not at all how these people have built their empires, or as they say, their “ministries”. They advertise, market, promote, hire business experts from the world, use fear tactics, manipulate people’s emotions, twist Scriptures and generally just coerce and trick people out of their money. Yet they basically teach, in one way or the other, that they got their money by giving money away and you need to do the same if you want what they have. No! They got their money by using underhanded tactics to convince others to give it to them. And for you to have what they have, the way that they got it, you would need to do the same and set up a traveling ministry or counterfeit pulpit to give you a platform to similarly convince a bunch of naive and unwary people to give money to you. As I have said many times before: if what these men teach really worked, they would just keep giving money away to get their wealth. They would never need to ask anyone for anything ever. The good news is these men usually only have power over those who want what they have. Since we know that there are many in the world who have enough common sense to see right through these guys, we know this awareness is no reliable proof of spiritual discernment. While some professing Christians who are not even Christians can see this problem, some genuine Christians cannot. But suffice it to say that those who have given up on their own will being done, those who deny themselves and carry their crosses daily are usually immune from such sheisterism and shenanigans. Paul Howey paulhowey@captivesfree.org | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 1 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.156.115 |
Hi, I'm trying to go easy on this message but honestly, I am totally apalled by what I'm reading here. You should RUN not away, but toward www.mikemurdock.com and listen to the video of the day. Then you should log into the VIDEOS ON DEMAND link and start LISTENING to what Dr. Murdock is saying. How many souls have you brought to Christ? How many books of wisdom have YOU written? Baby Christians! A "sheep in wolves clothings"(!) What ignorance! Haven't you read the Scriptures? A house can't be divided against itself! How many plane trips have you made to Africa and Puerto Rico this year to spread the gospel? I have a cassette of him PREACHING at 8 years old for Christ! What were YOU all doing at 8 years old!!! The post above: "AND I NEEDED SOME HELP FROM GOD SO I GAVE , BUT NOTHING EVER HAPPENED," and the response from another post: "Chalk up your experience as a learning experience and be glad it didn't cost you more." I've never heard of anyone so ungrateful in my life! So when you gave, you didn't really give to God at all did you? Because now it turns out you just thought it was a big lie to pad Mike Murdock's pockets? So you never really did something for God to give to a ministry that helps spread his Gospel around the world did you? You just wanted something for YOURSELF! So who is the selfish one here!!! Enough. For all others wanting to find out the TRUTH, go to www.thewisdomcenter.tv and find out FOR YOURSELF - stand up for YOURSELF and make up your OWN mind about Dr. Murdock. Listen to his wisdom keys and go to his bookstore and buy a couple of his many books. Then decide for yourself. I'm disappointed by these posts and also saddened. All that wisdom and scripture found in his books that could help so many people here on this discussion board but frightened away because of the well-meaning but misguided and shallow conclusions of others. Daniel Leo Simpson ScorePerfect.com (Message edited by scoreperfect on April 26, 2005) | ||
| mikko (mikko) Member Username: mikko Post Number: 94 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 69.242.21.100 |
let me ask you a question ,will his wisdom books help poorest of the poor in places like Ethiopia Somalia Sudan India etc???? what can the prosperity message do for those people ??? | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.156.115 |
let me ask you a question ,will his wisdom books help poorest of the poor in places like Ethiopia Somalia Sudan India etc???? Yes. what can the prosperity message do for those people ??? Give them hope. (Message edited by scoreperfect on April 28, 2005) | ||
| mikko (mikko) Member Username: mikko Post Number: 100 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 69.242.21.100 |
false hope ..repent sinner ! | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 3 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.156.115 |
false hope ..repent sinner ! Repent of what? Giving people hope??? I'm unclear as to what you're saying... | ||
| infoman (infoman) Intermediate Member Username: infoman Post Number: 342 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.175.37.91 |
Murdock doesn't practice the Bible. He practices lust for power, money, fame, and the adoration of people. Murdock books are found lacking in the WHOLE Bible of information. They DONT work because He lacks the key. He firsts seeks money for himself and not the kingdom. The proof is in his own lifesytle and terrible stupidly poor stewardship of money. His accumulation of things. Rolex's,Expensive Exotic anumals-tigers etc. (Read the article and the proof above from IRS records and his own son.) The problem is that over 80% of his offerings go to his own pocket with less than %20 percent to actual ministry. So he can buy his planes,exotic animals, BMW's and estates. All on unknowing peoples offerings. Murdock is the one that gets the money while novices that swallow the bait that he lays out pay him for it. Giving to Murdock the money goes to his personal lusts not persons in need of the Gospel. He has learned how to hype up the undicerning, the lack of knowledge babes. He's a perfect example of a "wolf in sheeps clothing" who doesn't even hang out with the sheep. Murdock preaches OWNERHIP not Stewardship.Curses not Blessings. Fear not Faith. Lust not Godly love and leading of the Holy Spirit. It's great to be a giver. It's scriptural to understand seed time and harvest. The problem is SEED ONLY PRODUCES A HARVEST WHEN PLANTED IN GOOD STEWARDSHIP RESULTS PRODUCING GROUND" | ||
| mikko (mikko) Intermediate Member Username: mikko Post Number: 172 Registered: 3-2005 Posted From: 69.242.21.100 |
the true SEED is the WORD of God not money ..also covetousness is sin idolatry is sin you cannot serve God AND mammon . | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 4 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.81.10 |
Mike Murdock writes about what he loves. You all write about what you hate. There's the difference. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 71 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.30.151 |
Jesus said that the love of money is the root of all evil. Mike writes about worldly success and money money money. Money is what he sure seems to love more than anything else. If Hugh Hefner, the founder of the Playboy empire was here writing about his love for naked women, would that be OK with you too? If you asked Mike, he'd probably tell you all kinds of things that he “hates”. If my memory serves me correctly, he has written about many such things and lets his staff know in no uncertain terms what he “hates”. Although the word hate may be far too strong regarding this string, there is nothing wrong with hating sin, evil and false doctrine. I don't think anyone here actually hates Mike himself, I know I don't. I just hate the unBiblical things that he teaches and the hurtful effects that his teachings have on others. But even if you are right about hearing a hatred here, remember that Jesus said that he hates the practices and doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Rev 2:6,15). This is the same doctrine, the suppression of Christians by counterfeit leaders, that Mike uses to his full advantage to gain access to church bookstores and pulpits across America. "To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Prov 8:13. "These six things does the LORD hate: yes, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren." Prov 6:16-19. | ||
| cybermom (cybermom) Intermediate Member Username: cybermom Post Number: 214 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.186.102.112 |
score perfect It seems to me that you're in the same business as Murdock - promoting yourself, or why else would you post your email adress? As for the prosperity message giving people hope: The only hope I see for a lost and hurting world, no matter what country, is the true message of the Gospel, and the only Way to the Father, His Son Jesus. Money or prosperity is not the way to salvation, Jesus is. People in the third world don't need the likes of Mike Murdock and Robb Thompson telling them to give what little they have to further their own agendas. These people need to hear the undiluted Word of God and a true salvation message, not some self-promoting, deceptive, sleazy schpeil (sp?). Luk 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Mat 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So we can see where Mike and Robb's hearts really are, then: in their bank accounts. Cybermom | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 72 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.30.151 |
Thanks Cybermom, I think you may have meant that he posts his business website address. I didn't see his email address. As for me, I'm always interested in making new friends in the Lord and helping people as I can, so I often give my email address in case someone wants to contact me personally. Now and then I get requests from various folks to answer their questions or to comment on what they have gone through. Paul | ||
| cybermom (cybermom) Intermediate Member Username: cybermom Post Number: 217 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.186.102.112 |
Paul I did mean website. I just didn't agree with him. But you're right. Cybermom | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 73 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.30.151 |
Thanks Cybermom, I don't remotely agree with him either. Paul | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 6 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.91.30 |
Seeds of Wisdom on the Secret Place by Dr. Mike Murdock 1) The Secret Place is the place you set aside to meet with the Holy Spirit each morning 2) Uncommon Champions have always set aside a special place to meet with God 3) When the Secret Place becomes your morning habit, your life will experience dramatic change. 4) You must climatize the Secret Place continually with annointed music. 5) The Secret Place is where the Holy Spirit reveals His Secrets to you. 6) Your time in the Secret Place is the Proof of your dependency upon Him. 7) You must stay long enough in the secret place to create a memory. (Message edited by scoreperfect on July 21, 2005) | ||
| david_munson (david_munson) Advanced Member Username: david_munson Post Number: 691 Registered: 5-2005 Posted From: 65.140.248.87 |
The Holy Spirit reveals His secrets to me through His Holy Word. Not that prayer isn't important,it is. Dave} | ||
| infoman (infoman) Intermediate Member Username: infoman Post Number: 413 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.175.37.91 |
POOR STEWARDSHIP, LUst of the eyes,Lust of the Flesh and Pride Of Life... Whats wrong with Murdock's message. Murdock gives a BAD name to Jesus, true Christianity, and true Biblical prosperity When are people going to wake up to God and get rid of following this fool. Love of money, things of status, love of praises of men, vanity gone wild. Murdock is such a lame teacher, mixing a little half truths with his lies motivating by stirring up the lusts in people. Dramatizing and making it sound like he is so wise when it is so not Biblical without the stewarship, holy spirit, and Gods full word. Murdock never quotes about stewardship.JESUS DID He never lives by good stewardship. JESUS DID Read Luke 16 - Faithful in little, good stewards Murdock wins no one to Christ. True stewardship Godly management of Gods money and resources would NEVER own the STUPID things he owns and claims are good. .....exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion, $30,000 Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's depreciating pieces of metal, airplanes and more." READ THIS PROOF! Check out what Murdock spends your money on. Here's the link: to a recent article full of DOCUMENTED IRS records, cashed checks, accounting records Proof in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star featuring Mike Murdock and his best friend Robb Thompson's crazy spending of money they collect from their offering buckets. (Poor stewardship gone nuts) http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 Dec 15th, 2004 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Star newspaper Here's an interesting article that speaks about thompson and his best scheming friend Mike Murdock's spending, including proof and how he and Robb Thompson have exchanged huge "gifts" including Thompson giving Murdock $70,000 BMW's, trading $25,000 cash gifts $15,000 cash house payment gifts for "birthday" presents while people in their congregations and organizations are starving. Also Mike Murdocks son Jason Murdock, 27, is quoted stating "people question his father's methods as well as his fast cars, expensive jewelry and estate in Argyle, where he has kept exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion." "Sometimes his lavishness is a little crazy," Jason Murdock said. "Who needs an African lion for a pet?" We are called by God to be good stewards. Wasting his provision to feed some egomaniac like thompson and Murdock''s ridiculous spending and Rolex/Muller wristwatch habit is not what God expects of us. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the ministries money that these two fools WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $80,000 Lexus and on and on.??? Think twice and seek God's wisdom before sending these Financial Abusive charlatans any of your money. How many people could have been given the Gospel, poor people helped, and the hungry fed with the money these two WASTE on Exotic animals, Rolex watches, $70,000 BMW's, $68,000 Lexus and on and on.???? http://www.religionnewsblog.com/9790 | ||
| nikita (nikita) Intermediate Member Username: nikita Post Number: 232 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.173.120.177 |
Mike Murock and Robb Thompson of Family Harvest Church are two of a kind | ||
| nikita (nikita) Intermediate Member Username: nikita Post Number: 234 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.173.120.177 |
Really this is so true of many Christians today. POOR STEWARDSHIP, LUst of the eyes,Lust of the Flesh and Pride Of Life. This seems to be the problem of many, many, Christians. Very sad indeed. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 7 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.91.30 |
THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN YOUR LIFE by Dr. Mike Murdock Section 1: The Holy Spirit 1) The Holy Spirit is a Person The Holy Spirit is a Person, not merely a presence. He is a Person who *has* a presence. (The bark is not the dog, the aroma is not the food). 2) The Holy Spirit created you Your personality, body, and everything about you is the design of the Holy Spirit (Job 33:4). The Holy Spirit is the One sent to form new creations (Ps. 104:30) The Holy Spirit is the One who ushered in the entry of Jesus, the Son of God, into the earth. 3) The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Word of God. Your Bible is His gift to you. The Holy Spirit breathed through men, the holy Scriptures (2 Pet.1:21) When you are uoting the Bible, you are quoting the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet. 1:21) 4) The Holy Spirit is your only source of true joy, peace and love The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of wisdom (Is. 11:2) The Holy Spirit enables you to keep doing your assignment in the midst of threats. (Acts 5:42) When you focus on the Holy Spirit, you develop the mind of Christ. (Rom.8:6) When the Holy Spirit becomes your focus, the storm in your mind begins to settle.(Is.28:12) The Holy Spirit will give you discernment regarding your friendships: SOME ARE CONTENTIOUS. THEIR FAULT FINDING WORDS CREATE A CLIMATE OF CONFLICT, ANGER AND CYNICISM..."...from such turn away" (2 Tim.3:5) MARK PEOPLE WHO CARRY A SPIRIT OF DEBATE, STRIFE AND CONDEMNATION. When the Holy Spirit is in leadership, you will discern them quickly. "BUT THE FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED QUESTIONS AVOID, KNOWING THAT THEY DO GENDER STRIFES" (2 Tim.2:23) The Holy Spirit increases your patience with others. The Holy Spirit will give you the courage and strength to withdraw from the company of foolish people. (Prov.14:7) | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 75 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Score, There is barely any mention of Jesus Christ and the Word of God here. Without wading through everything you wrote, and without pointing out a number of significant problems including context errors, for now let me make a few fundamental things clear: Jesus Christ is Head of the Church. The Holy Sprit testifies of Christ and the Word. The Holy Spirit does not seek His own recognition nor does He call attention to Himself but rather points to and lifts up Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit does not lead according to the whims of man. He leads us into all truth by bringing us understanding of the existing written Word of God. Foolish Christians switch from the safety of Christ-centrality (with the Holy Spirit’s guidance) to Holy Spirit-centrality alone, which God is firmly against and which the Scriptures do not authorize. This causes grievous error, flakiness, disorder, greed, selfishness, idolatry and a variety of other sins, to no fault of the Holy Spirit. This is because who they are really listening to is the spirit of error in disguise. But it’s “religionized” to make it look good and seem Biblical. On the other hand, those who emphasize the Word of God to the exclusion of the Holy Spirit fall in to a similar but opposite error where they become rigidly dogmatic and legalistic and therefore insist on their own twisted interpretation of the Scriptures. This is not referring to the keeping of God’s Word, for there is nothing dogmatic or legalistic whatsoever about obedience to the Scriptures. Obedience to the Word of God is simply the duty and responsibility of every Christian. The fruit or end result of this kind of legalism is similar to the bad fruit of the flaky group mentioned above. Either of these extremes causes confusion, again to no fault of the Holy Spirit or Christ. Believing that the Holy Spirit can be separated from the Word and exalted above Christ leaves the door of private interpretation wide open. But no Scripture is subject to private interpretation. Yet many do as they please; claiming to be led of the Holy Sprit in the Name of Jesus, when it in fact it has just been the spirit of error and their own selfishness leading them all along. Paul Howey | ||
| cybermom (cybermom) Intermediate Member Username: cybermom Post Number: 222 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.186.102.112 |
Amen, Nikita We've seen the lavish gifts they've showered on each other. Why else would Robb have him come to Faith Week except to increase the "offerings". Paul You've hit the nail right on the head. Not only are we in error when we separate the Word of God from the Spirit of God (and vice versa), but we open ourselves up to great darkness when Jesus (who btw IS the Word of God) is not our central focus. Jesus is our Savior and only Way to the Father, not riches, power or even the Holy Spirit. Any message/gospel other than His atonement for us on the Cross, and our rebirth through belief in him is a false gospel and must be rejected. Our lives need to center on Him and His Word, and allowing Him to speak to us through His Word and Godly teaching, not on gaining riches. The excuse for teaching prosperity is that "you need money to reach people." That simply is not true; all you need is a mouth and your Bible. And how many unsaved/unchurched people are actually reached out to and brought into the Body of Christ by these prosperity preachers? Do they use their money to further the gospel, or their own selfish ambition? Cybermom | ||
| marta (marta) Intermediate Member Username: marta Post Number: 329 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.162.92.176 |
RE: The excuse for teaching prosperity is that "you need money to reach people." That simply is not true; all you need is a mouth and your Bible. Amen Cybermom. | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 82 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.240.130 |
It is always their own selfish ambition, Cybermom, as we can see. And their avid supporters are out for the same thing. My new neighbor is a WoF devotee. She admitted in a slip when unexpectedly backed into a corner by scripture that refutes WoF teaching that she didn't care what scripture says because prosperity teaching "makes her feel good". The tickled ears syndrome, but I had never heard anyone admit it before! | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 83 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.240.130 |
Score perfect, It's people like Mike who have forsaken the truth of God's Word and have brought contention to the Body of Christ. He is only one of a thousand-plus others today who are doing this on 'Christian' television and everywhere else in the church, and that's why the controversy. It is the spiritual responsibility of the believer to mark them which cause division with their heresies and to expose them in defense of the faith. That's what we are doing here. It doesn't matter how touchy-feely syrrupy nice these people seem to be, and how much truth they might throw into the mix to bait people, they are still false teachers. | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 84 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.240.130 |
It is also these endless numbers of false teachers today who are promoting the idea that we are not to judge their teachings. Of course they call it judging THEM to try to deflect attention from the true issue to cover their hinies . Some of them are so arrogant that they say we are not to even question what they teach. One said we will find out if it's true when we get to heaven. How blind are those who fall for such a ruse! God gave us His Word and Spirit of truth so that we would know the truth and not be deceived. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 8 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.153.59 |
THE LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF JESUS by Dr. Mike Murdock Table of Contents: Part I 1. Jesus was a problem-Solver 2. Jesus believed in His product 3. Jesus never misrepresented His product 4. Jesus went where the people were 5. Jesus took time to rest 6. Jesus took time to plan 7. Jesus knew He did not have to close every sale to be a success 8. Jesus had something others needed 9. Jesus was concerned about people's finances 10. Jesus was willing to go where He had never been before 11. Jesus never allowed what others said about Him to change His opinion of Himself 12. Jesus understood timing and preparation 13. Jesus developed a passion for His goals. 14. Jesus respected authority 15. Jesus never discriminated 16. Jesus offered incentives 17. Jesus overcame the stigma of a questionable background. 18. Jesus never wasted time answering critics 19. Jesus knew there was a right time and a wrong time to approach people. 20. Jesus Educated those He mentored 21. Jesus refused to be discouraged when others misjudged His motives. 22. Jesus refused to be bitter when others were disloyal or betrayed Him. 23. Jesus networked with people of all backgrounds. 24. Jesus resisted temptation. 25. Jesus made decisions that created a desired future instead of a desired present. 26. Jesus never judged people by their outward appearance. 27. Jesus recognized the law of repetition. 28. Jesus was a tomorrow thinker. 29. Jesus knew that money alone could not bring contentment 30. Jesus knew the power of words and the power of silence. 31. Jesus knew when you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done. 32. Jesus permitted others to correct their mistakes. 33. Jesus knew His worth. 34. Jesus never tried to succeed alone. 35. Jesus knew that money is anywhere you really want it to be. 36. Jesus set specific goals. 37. Jesus knew that every great achievement requires a willingness to begin small. 38. Jesus hurt when others hurt 39. Jesus was not afraid to show His feelings 40. Jesus knew the power of habit 41. Jesus finished what He started 42. Jesus was knowledgeable of Scripture 43. Jesus never hurried 44. Jesus went where He was celebrated instead of where He was tolerated 45. Jesus constantly consulted His Heavenly Father 46. Jesus knew that prayer generates results 47. Jesus rose early 48. Jesus never felt He had to prove Himself to anyone 49. Jesus avoided unneccessary confrontations 50. Jesus delegated 51. Jesus carefully guarded His personal schedule 52. Jesus asked questions to accurately determine the needs and desires of others. 53. Jesus always answered truthfully 54. Jesus Stayed in the center of His expertise 55. Jesus accepted the responsibility for the mistakes of those under His authority 56. Jesus pursued the mentorship of more experienced men 57. Jesus did not permit those He led to show disrespect. 58. Jesus respected the law of sowing and reaping ********************************** To order this book visit the bookstore at: www.mikemurdock.com (Message edited by scoreperfect on August 21, 2005) | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 88 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.241.11 |
How trite and disgusting to try to reduce the grace and power of God in the Lord's ministry to worldly leadership tactics. Was this man ever born again? He's in love with the world and the creature more than the Creator. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 76 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Amen Anony, What trash and what monumental gall to reduce Christ to this. Doctor of what, a three ring circus? | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 77 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
This list of 58 "secrets" proves this man has no fear of God. And where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom. For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psa 111:10). Mike Murdock hasn't even begun in wisdom, yet he has the brazen audacity to build a "Wisdom" Center. Psa 34:11 says, "Come, you children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Obviously Mike has not been harkening unto the Lord but rather listening to worldly business leaders and seminar speakers instead. Garbage in garbage out. | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 89 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.241.11 |
This man is nothing but a cheap hawker of the things of the world and a spiritual con artist. He makes me ill. Thank God 'christian' television and all of his low caliber have a limited shelf life. | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 90 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.241.11 |
Boy, you hit the nail on the head, Paul. | ||
| infoman (infoman) Intermediate Member Username: infoman Post Number: 418 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.175.37.91 |
Mike Murdock preaches LUST and love for money and things as his primary goal. He is easy to spot as a fraud. This is also evidenced by his over the top lust for his gaudy lifestyle as you can see documented in the articles and IRS documents about him. "Mike Murdocks son Jason Murdock, 27, is quoted stating "people question his father's methods as well as his fast cars, expensive jewelry and estate in Argyle, where he has kept exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion." "Sometimes his lavishness is a little crazy," Jason Murdock said. "Who needs an African lion for a pet?" Every person that I know that ever gave to Mike Murdock were doing so JUST for a huge return on their money. Jesus said to be good steward givers, caretakers, and receivers. We are ONLY TO GIVE to good steward ministries. The BIGGEST pecentage over 99% or most of Murdocks money goes to himself and not to any outreach of any kind. There hundreds of better places to give to, with real Godly intregrity, getting real results harvesting souls, and helping people in need. NOt buying $30,000 Rolex watches, $100,000 Lions, and $75,000 BMW's. But spending that money on souls. GIVE ONLY TO GOOD STEWARD, GOOD GROUND ministries that have open accounting and accountability producing high results ministry. LUST is a form of pride, including weakness, insecurity and fear. The lust of other things, lust for money, lust for power, lust for recognition by men, lust of the world is all sin. It is all self centered. LUST is SELF CENTERED. Pride is self centered. "Only by pride comes contention.."Proverbs 13:10 All this is SELF-CENTEREDNESS. This is the root. SELF. All about SELF. God is all about others. Love is all about others interests. John 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave... Phil 2:4:5 Hebrews 12:2 Jesus thought of us not himself so he endured the punishment for us. James 4:6 "God RESISTS THR PROUD but gives grace to the HUMBLE" PRIDE comes in many forms but its key component is SELF centeredness. You see Jesus giving to all. You see Murdock taking from all. You see Jesus preaching stewardship. You see Murdock being a bad steward. You see Jesus being a faithful in much. You see Murdock not faithful even in little. You see Jesus loving all and giving to all in need. You see Murdock taking from all and giving nothing to any. Jesus sought the Fathers will and the Fathers buisness. Murdock seeks his own will and his own lusts. Jesus made disciples and preached the ministry of winning souls making disciples as the first primary ministry. Murdock wins no one to Christ, disciples no one to relationship with Christ, preaches relationship with THINGS. Jesus said to plant seed only in good stewardship ground to get a good harvest. Mark 4 and Luke 16. Murdock is not good ground to plant into. People that take others ten dollar offerings to buy gaudy expensive watches, suits, cars, houses, exotic animals on themselves while others die daily into an empty eternity without the Gospel are at least equal to spiritual murderers. Murdocks primary goal is SEEKING THINGS not God. Murdock coerces money from the poor to make himself rich. Murdock seeks things, and peoples money who lack knowledge and discernment. Murdock is so easy to spot as a charlatan. You need to blinded by greed, get rich quick lusts, and have an immature understanding of the Bible to miss his obvious out of control lust. Christians need to be good stewards of EVERYTHING God has given us. Time, money, resources, people, things etc. Jesus said "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and all these THINGS will be added to you" In everything we do we need to seek God FIRST. | ||
| anony (anony) Member Username: anony Post Number: 91 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.151.241.11 |
Amen, Infoman. You have imparted more truth and wisdom in your one post than that man can ever know in his choice to operate in a worldly, self-serving life. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 9 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.91.67 |
THE WISDOM COMMENTARY VOL.1 Chapt.14: Dreams & Goals - (10 of 24 facts regarding The Uncommon Dream Within You) 1. You Must Continually Visualize This Uncommon Dream In Your Heart And Mind: "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it" (Hab.2:2) 2. An Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Patience. "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come" Hab.2:3 3. God Is Committed To The Uncommon Dream He Is Birthing, Whether You Embrace It Yet Or Not. Peter made continuous mistakes. But Jesus said, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not..." Luke 22:32 4. An Uncommon Dream Is Often Birthed From Uncommon Pain. Those raised in poverty often develop a passion for prosperity. Those with childhood disease become obsessed in helping others develop great health. 5. An Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Faith. Read the biographies of uncommon men and women. Those with uncommon achievements nurtured the Seed of faith until it became a raging Force within them. 6. The Uncommon Dream Must Be Born Within You, Not Borrowed From Others. Others have opinions but you have direction. You alone will receive the confirmation from God for the achieving of the Dream He has birthed. Joseph had nobody else to encourage him--but he believe in his own Dream. 7. The Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Focus. The only reason people fail is broken focus. You will only succeed with somethhing that consumes you. When God gives you The Uncommon Dream- it will require all of you - your time, your love and energy. 8. The Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Passion. Passion is energy, enthusiasm and strength. Passion is a clue to the path the Holy Spirit has chosen for your life. Now, it is possible to have a passion for something that is unholy. But, it is important that you recognize that any uncommon achievement will require uncommon passion from God. 9. The Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Favor With Others. Joseph received favor from Potiphar and Pharaoh. Esther received favor from the king. Ruth received favor from Boaz. When the hand of god is upon you, favor will come. Sow it. Expect it. Protect it. Respect it. 10. The Uncommon Dream Will Require Uncommon Preparation. Jesus prepared 30 years for 3 1/2 years of ministry. ********************************** For more info go to www.mikemurdock.com | ||
| cybermom (cybermom) Intermediate Member Username: cybermom Post Number: 246 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.186.102.112 |
Score I think it is significant that you quote extensively from Mike Murdock, and NOT the Word of God. I know what I'd rather read and be led by. And yes, there is a big difference. Praying that your eyes and ears would be opened before you follow your blind guide into the pit. Cybermom | ||
| anony (anony) Intermediate Member Username: anony Post Number: 154 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 70.240.76.187 |
Mike Murdock promotes love of the things of the world, the direct opposite of what Jesus taught. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 10 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.89.143 |
From: 31 FACTS ABOUT WISDOM by Dr. Mike Murdock Fact #1 WISDOM IS THE MASTER KEY TO ALL THE TREASURES OF LIFE "In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God...Give me Wisdom and knowledge...And God said to Solomon, 'Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life...Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee rriches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before." 2 Chron 1:7,8,10,11,12 "In Whom are hid all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge." Coloss.2:3 Fact #2: WISDOM IS A GIFT FROM GOD TO YOU "For the Lord giveth Wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." Prov.2:6 "That the god of our Lord Jesus christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you tyhe Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Eph.1:17 Fact #3: THE FEAR OF GOD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Prov.9:10 "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is Wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:28 Fact #4: THE WISDOM OF MAN IS FOOLISHNESS TO GOD "Hath not God made foolish the Wisdom of this world?" 1 Cor.1:20 "For the Wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." 1 Cor.3:19 Fact #5: THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS A FALSE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE WISDOM OF GOD "But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This Wisdom decendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. But the Wisdom that is from above is first pure..." James 3:13 Fact #6: RELATIONSHIPS INCREASE OR DECREASE YOUR WISDOM "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Prov.13:20 "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners." 1 Corin.15:33 "Perverse disputings of men of currupt minds, and destitute of the trhth supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." 1 Tim.6:5 Fact #8: YOUR CONVERSATION REVEALS HOW MUCH WISDOM YOU POSSESS "And all the earth sought to Solomon to hear his Wisdom, which God had put in his heart." 1 Kings 10:24 "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." "For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." Fact #9: JESUS IS MADE UNTO US WISDOM "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us Wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." 1 cor.1:30 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." Eph.1:17 Fact #10 THE WORD OF GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE YOU WISE CONCERNING SALVATION "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me." John 5:39 Fact #11 ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ARE HID IN JESUS CHRIST "...to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ: In Whom are hid all the treasures of Wisdom and knowledge." Col.2:3 "But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the Wisdom of God." 1 cor.1:24 Fact #12 THE WORD OF GOD IS YOUR SOURCE OF WISDOM "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me...for this is your Wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations." Deut.4:5,6 "For the Lord giveth Wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." Prov.2:6 Fact #13: WISDOM IS ONLY GUARANTEED TO THOSE WHO PURSUE IT "If any of you lack Wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shalll walk, and not faint." Isa.40:31 FACT #16 WISDOM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN JEWELS OR MONEY "For Wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." "How much better is it to get Wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!" Fact #19: THE WISE HATE EVIL AND THE EVIL HATE THE WISE "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil" Prov.8:13 "A fool hath no delight in understanding." Prov.18:2 "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?" Prov.1:22 ********************************** For more info, visit: www.mikemurdock.com (Message edited by scoreperfect on August 22, 2005) | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 78 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Dear Score, Without getting into details about Mikes horrible out-of-context exegesis and all around brazen Scripture twisting, Mike acts as if the Bible is a book of incantations to use to get what he wants. This is witchcraft not Christianity. The Bible is not a spell book. It's God's Word to be used His way not man’s way. Big difference. Jesus never taught us to pray or desire for our will to be done on earth as it is on earth. Rather, we are to pray and desire for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus said that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Mike teaches and lives the exact opposite cloaked in false humility. Mike twists the Scriptures into “keys” to get what he wants – YOU’RE MONEY. This is what he is after even though his pursuit is cleverly disguised as compassion, concern and a desire to help you be “successful” and “get ahead”. I don’t care how much money and influence Mike has, he is pathetically unsuccessful as a professing Christian and mocks the ministry of Christ. These kind of false teachers keep getting rich while their poor blind-as-a-bat followers keep getting poorer as they give these apostates their money. Mike and his minions have not died to self nor denied self as the Bible commands. They are not carrying their crosses daily. They’re chasing a money bag, a pursuit that’s dragging them down, drowning them and their followers into perdition and every foolish and hurtful lust. And, all in the name of Jesus! It is written, “He that is greedy for gold is not satisfied with gold.” No matter how much money these guys take in, how many jets they own and how large their ministry headquarters get, these guys never have enough and always want more. They are greedy hypocrites, idolaters that the Word commands us to avoid. But you run to them in your desire to have what they have. Run in the other direction. They promote self and the desires of self. Period. | ||
| anony (anony) Intermediate Member Username: anony Post Number: 156 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 70.240.93.205 |
Very well said, Paul. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 79 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Thanks Anony, Score, Before you list Mike's keys again, I just wanted to say that in whatever area a man remains self-willed, he can never see clearly. Some Christians are for example self-willed in the area of money yet submit to God's Word in other areas such as their marriages. Their marriages are blessed (as far as can be with their view of finances being so out of whack) but they are miserably blind in the area of money. Jesus made it quite clear that he that wills to do God's will will know. From this and other Scriptures we know that those who do not will to do God’s will remain ignorant and blind. This is why it is so vitally important for us to submit every area of our life to God’s Word holding nothing back, not even that which seems like just a mere crumb for ourselves. The pooled ignorance of a multitude of well-meaning yet gullible Christians is what empowers men like Mike Murdock to STAY IN BUSINESS. As I’ve said before, his is a business disguised as a ministry run by himself who is a CEO cleverly disguised as a minister. You need to get a hold of this fact. I must keep in mind that just because you listen to Mike Murdock doesn’t necessarily mean that you might not be on track in others areas. I do not know. Unfortunately, many of those who defend error this persistently often have quite a few other areas where they hold to false doctrines as well. Take heed. Repent. Turn from this man and others like him. Hint: Stop wanting what he offers you and his power over you will evaporate like the mirage that it is. Your bondage is fueled by your desire, your will at odds with God’s will. The devil plays by smoke and mirrors and it’s no trip to the carnival. The bill he eventually presents for admission to his “fun land” is always that which no man can afford to pay but must pay for Satan is a cruel creditor. Paul | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 11 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.159.148 |
From THE WISDOM COMMENTARY - Vol.1 by Dr. Mike Murdock Chapter 19 - FOOLS (Excerpts) 1. A fool is anyone who despises wisdom, instruction and correction from a proven mentor. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despose Wisdom and instruction" Prov.1:7 2. A fool is anyone who attempts to destroy the reputation of a proven champion through lying and misrepresentation "He that uttereth a slander, is a fool" Prov.10:18 3. A fool is anyone who refuses to depart from evil, even though corrected. "But it is abomination to fools to depart from evil" Prov. 13:19 4. A fool is anyone who does not take the danger of sin seriously: "Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour" Prov.14:9 5. A fool is anyone who reveals confidences that should be kept private. "Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known" Prov.14:33 7. A fool is any son who shows disrespect toward the mother that brought him into the world. "A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother" Prov.15:20 8. A fool is anyone whose conduct does not change even after experiencing painful consequences from it. "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool" Prov.17:10 9. A fool is anyone who considers any pursuit of wisdom to be a wasted effort. "Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get Wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?" Prov.17:16 12. A fool is any man who spends more money than he is willing to earn for his family "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up." Prov.21:20 13. A fool is anyone who creates his own belief system, contrary to the Word of God. "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool; but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered" Prov.28:26 15. A fool is anyone who makes financial increase his life focus rather than God. "But God said unto him, 'Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?' So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" Luke 12:20,21 27. A fool remains unaffected or changed by any Wisdom he quotes from others. "The legs of the lame are not equal; so is a parable in the mouth of fools" Prov.26:7 29. Every fool will eventually taste the consequences of his attitude and rebellion. "The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors" 33. No amount of Wisdom or counsel can create a peaceful relationship with a fool. "If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest." Prov.29:9 36. A FOOL NEVER BELIEVES THAT He IS WRONG "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil" Ecc.5:1 38. Any atheist is a fool "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God'" Psalm 14:1, Ps.53:1 40. ANY CONVERSATION WITH FOOLS SHOULD BE AVOIDED Association is defiling. Correction is useless. Solomon understood this. "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him" Prov.26:4 ********************************** Taken from: THE WISDOM COMMENTARY VOL.1 cat.# B-136 For more info, visit the Bookstore at: www.mikemurdock.com ********************************** | ||
| marta (marta) Intermediate Member Username: marta Post Number: 352 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.162.92.176 |
Interesting article written in the 1600's but still relevant for today... THE DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF FALSE TEACHERS by Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) http://grace-for-today.com/261.htm Only proves there is nothing new under the sun. There were false teachers in the early church and they will remain until Jesus returns. Those who are wise will learn how to identify false teachers and avoid them. | ||
| anony (anony) Intermediate Member Username: anony Post Number: 158 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 70.240.99.4 |
Those who are wise will learn how to identify false teachers and avoid them. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 80 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Score, Not to be disrespectful, but do you maybe work for Mike Murdock? You keep advertising his twists on Scripture and then give his website link. You have been well rebuked by Cybermon for quoting Murdock instead of quoting the Word, yet you persist. All I know is Cybermom isn’t reaching into your pocket taking you to the cleaners but Mike sure seems to be. And yet he is the one you defend. It’s quite a shame that you don't contend for the faith as you do for Mike’s doctrine. Since you have refused many times now to answer anyone, and judging by your latest list, it is pretty obvious that you have judged us to be fools. Let us now consider Mike's Idiot Machine. Mike’s “fool” list, whether he realizes it our not, is nothing more than a damage control device for his mockery disguised as a ministry. He discredits the character of those who would warn against him by calling them fools, making them appear to be idiots when in fact they are discerning rightly. It's the same age-old technique of the underhanded lawyer who has no case. So instead he assassinates the character of his opponent's witnesses in order to discredit their testimony so that the jury won't believe them. Hence a mechanism or machine is employed by which honest people are made to look like idiots and criminals. Mike seems to know well that he needs influence to maintain the stream of coins in the coffer. He seems to seek to destroy any influence that would rightly undermine his dangerous influence over his gullible and unwary contributors. Now I am not judging Mike’s motivations or his eternal destiny, just his doctrine and lifestyle as every Christian is commanded to test, prove and rightly judge according to the Bible. Mike’s motivations certainly seem to be greed-based and they may very well be. But in this we cannot judge for sure. He may in fact be well-meaning and he may truly believe that he is serving God when in fact he is serving money. If so, he is not purposely trying to hurt anybody but he is deceived and ignorant of the damage that his teachings are causing. I don’t have time to debunk all the context and application problems of your latest list of Mike’s twisted teachings, but I would like to point out one glaring thing. Just take a look at your post. Mike actually does many of the very things he claims to stand against. This is irrefutable and a proven fact. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 12 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.89.190 |
From the book: THE LAW OF RECOGNITION by Mike Murdock Chapter 31: Recognition of the Bible as Your Master Success Handbook 12 Rewards of Reading The Word of God 1.The word of God Unleashes Your Very Life Within You "...the words I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" John 6:63 2.The Word of God Solves Your Mental Problems "Great peace have they which love Thy law;" Ps.119:165 3. The Word of God Cleanses Your Conscience "Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you" John 15:3 4. The Word of God Purifies "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word" Ps. 119:9 5. The Word of God Corrects You "All scripture...is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" 2 tim.3:16 6. The Word of God Solves Every Battle "Thou through Thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies" Ps.119:98 7. The Word of God Warns of Pitfalls" "The wicked have laid a snare for me; yet I erred not from Thy precepts" Ps.119:110 8.The Word of God Drives Back The Darkness Around You "The entrance of Thy Words giveth light" Ps.119:130 9. The Word of God Births Uncommon Joy "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" John 15:11 10. The Word of God Births The Fear of God Examples of judgment energize us to correct our conduct and change our behaviour. 11. The Word of God Creates a Hatred of Evil "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil" Prov.3:7 12.The Word of God is the Source of Wisdom in Your Life "For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding" Prov.2:6 ********************************** From THE LAW OF RECOGNITION Book B-114 Available at www.mikemurdock.com | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 13 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
From: THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION by Dr. Mike Murdock Chapter 1: Recognize that the Word of God is the Wisdom of God The Bible Is The Master Success Handbook 12 Rewards of Reading the Word of God 1) The Word of God Unleashes Your Very Life Within You 2) The Word of God Solves Your Mental Problems 3) The Word of God Cleanses Your Conscience 4) The Word of God Purifies 5) The Word of God Corrects You 6) The Word of God Solves every battle 7) The Word of God warns of pitfalls 8) The Word of God drives back the darkness around you 9) The Word of God births uncommon joy 10) The Word of God births the fear of God 11)The Word of God creates a hatred of evil 12)The Word of God is the source of wisdom in your life 12 Rewards Of Wisdom 1) Wisdom is the master key to all the treasures of life 2) The fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom 3) Wisdom is more powerful than weapons of war 4) Right relationships increase your wisdom 5) Wisdom is better than jewels or money 6) The wise welcome correction 7) Wisdom creates currents of favor and recognition toward you 8) Wisdom guarantees promotion 9) When you increase your wisdom you will increase your wealth 10)Wisdom makes your enemies helpless against you 11)Wisdom can be imparted by the laying on of hands of a man of God. 12) The Word of God is your Source of Wisdom 9 Helpful Hints In Reading The Word of God 1) Read it daily 2) Read it prayerfully 3. Read it thoughtfully 4) Read it joyfully 5) Read it aloud 6) Mark the Bible as you read it 7) Wrap every telephone conversation with a Scripture and prayer 8) Give the Word of God as special gifts to those you love 9) Every battle against your life from Satan is designed to separate you from the Word of God. ********************************** From The Making of a Champion - Chapter One | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 14 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
From: THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION by Dr. Mike Murdock Chapter 5 Use Words That Matter In Every Conversation 7 Facts You Should Remember In Every Conversation 1) Avoid sloppy casual conversation (Matt.12:37) 2) Never speak when another person is talking 3) Qualify others before speaking the secrets of your heart (Prov.25:11) 4) Speak loud enough for others to hear clearly what you are saying 5) NEver assume others have understood what you have said. 6) Encourage others to speak clearly 7) Always invest the necessary time in searching for the right word, even in the midst of a conversation. 47 Facts About Words 1) Words can poison and destroy a young man's entire life (Prov.7) 2) Right advice guarantees safety and protection (Prov.11:14) 3) Any man who controls his mouth is literally protecting his own life. (Prov.13:3) 4) Those who talk too much will eventually be destroyed. (Prov.13:3) 5. Right words can turn an angry man into a friend, and wrong words can turn a friend into an enemy. 6) Your words reveal whether you are wise or a fool (Prov.15:2) 7) Right words breathe life into everything around you. (Prov.15:4) 8) The purpose of words is to educate, enthuse and enlarge those around you (Prov.16:7) 9) Your personal happiness is influenced by the words that come out of your own mouth (Prov.15:23) 10) The wise are cautious with their words. (Prov.17:27) 15) The words you allow others to speak into you are deciding the wisdom you contain. 16) Wrong words are the reason men fall into error (Prov.19:27) 20) Talking to a fool is a waste of time. (Prov.23:9) 21) Wisdom is a result of the words you hear. (Prov.23:19) 24) The words of wise women are consistently kind. (Prov.31:26) 25) Right words feed and sustain those around you. (Prov.10:21) 30) The wise avoid the presence of those who consistently speak wrong words. 34) Pleasant words are the sweetest sounds on earth. (Prov.16:24) 36) The Quality of your words determines the Quality of your heart. 44) One Conversation with the wrong woman can destroy your life. (Prov.22:14) 46) The wise avoid self-praise (Prov.27:2) ********************************** From The Making of a Champion - Chapter One by Dr. Mike Murdock | ||
| marta (marta) New member Username: marta Post Number: 2 Registered: 9-2005 Posted From: 38.119.107.70 |
Yeah, even the devil knows scripture. The proof of "fruit" is in the way a person lives ... and anyone who would cheat a widow out of her last dollar just to support an extravagant lifestyle is a fool and will be judged by God. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 81 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Amen and THANK YOU Marta. Couldn't have been said any better. Score, With all due respect, don't you have any thoughts of your own? While attempting to expound Scripture, can you not communicate in your own words? Do you not see the slightest problem with your predisposition to constantly talk using Mike Murdock's words instead of quoting the Bible directly? We are certainly supposed to align our thinking with God's Word but that is not what you are doing here. These are just Mike's clever twists, slants or out of context quotes from Scripture that serve the bigger picture of his overall agenda. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 15 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
From the Wisdom Key Devotional 365 Wisdom Keys for the Calendar year by Dr. Mike Murdock October 6th Wisdom Key #279 Your Attitude Determines Your Access October 6/Zechariah 4-6 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Rom.3:20) | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 82 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
You really ought to take your mind back from Mike so you can be free to give it to Christ. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 16 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
From the Wisdom Digest No.5 (this is a free monthly subscription available at Thewisdomcenter.tv) It happened to me on July 13, 1994 I would trade every other day in my life for that morning when I fell in love with the Holy Spirit. He is not merely the key to life - He is Life. Your Success Depends On Your Ability To Discern His Voice 1. The Holy Spirit Is a Person... When you embrace this, your Christian experience will change dramatically and satisfy every part of your heart and life 2. The Holy Spirit Created You. You are His Greatest Product. "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (Job 33:4) 3. Everything About You Is The Design Of The Holy Spirit... I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well (Ps. 139:14) 4. Your Body Is The Temple Of The Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) 5. The Holy Spirit Is The Author Of The Word Of God For the Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Pet.1:21) 6. His Words Are Your Weapons For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (2 Cor.10:4) 7. Your Only Responsibility Is To Trust The Holy Spirit. Keep His Words in your mind, your mouth and every conversation... | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 83 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 66.1.6.43 |
Score, I quote your quote from Mike: "I would trade every other day in my life for that morning when I fell in love with the Holy Spirit. He is not merely the key to life - He is Life." Too bad Mike didn't fall in love with Jesus, the real Word of God. Mike is pneumocentric, a common error where the Holy Spirit is given centrality over Christ. But the Bible says that the Holy Spirit did not come to testify of Himself. So the real Holy Spirit does not permit this. Mike is unwittingly in love with the spirit of error. Those who become pneumocentric become deceived. They neglect the Word, deny sound doctrine and become flaky and experiential. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 17 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Mark 3:28-30 | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 18 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.155.226 |
From: The Jesus Book By Dr. Mike Murdock 1. His Achievements When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished;" and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. 2. His Anointing And Jesus immediately knowing himself that virture had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 3. His Appearance For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. 4. His Attitude Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye sall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 5. His Authority But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men. 6. His Baptism I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. 7. His Beatitudes And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying... 8. His Beginning In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God 9. His Betrayal And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men 10.His Birth Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel 11. His Blood For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins 12.His Character And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick 13. His Church Attendance And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues 14.His Commitment Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done 15. His Compassion I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days 16. His Critics At last came two false witnesses 17.His Crucifixion They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. 18. His Determination And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. 19.His Disappointments And he came and found them asleep again 20.His Disciples And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men 21.His Divinity 22.His Education 23.HisEmotions 24.His Enemies 25.His Family 26.His Fasting 27.His Genealogy 28.His Healing Ministry 29.His Humanity 30.His Loneliness 31.His Love 32.His Ministry 33. His Miracles 34.His Mission 35.His Mistakes For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him 36.His Names and Titles 37.His Obedience 38.His Pain 39.His Parables 40.His Parents 41.His Possessions 42.His Power over Demons 43.His Prayers 44.His Reactions To Children 45.His Reactions To Enemies 46.His Return 47.His Secrets of Success 48.His Teachings on Giving 49.His Teachings on Marriage and Divorce 50.His Tears 51.His Temptations 52.His Triumph ********************************** From: The Jesus Book by Dr. Mike Murdock | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 84 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.188 |
So now we FINALLY hear from you personally again after all these mindless monotonous posts of yours where you simply copy Mike Murdock’s words, and now you commit one of the most vile spiritual crimes against another Christian - to falsely accuse them of the unforgivable sin, of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. You better really be sure you know what you are talking about before talking in these most grave of terms and you better be absolutely right about the person you are accusing otherwise you will be judged. In my fifteen years as a Christian, and with all the false teachers I have conversed with, never once have I accused any of them of this. I would have to be very sure and hear directly from their own mouth (or read from their own hand): a conscious and intentional slur directly against the Holy Sprit to even think what you have said. As vile as many of my opponents have gotten towards me, I can’t remember one time when any of them have ever given me a reason to even think such a thing about them. Today we have many revivalists and experientialists running around accusing anyone that doesn’t agree with their false revivals of the same thing you have accused me of here. I must say that I’m glad that I am not an immature believer or a new convert / baby Christian who would be shaken by such a false accusation. Many have been forever scarred and have given up on Christianity all together because they lost all hope after hearing a similarly unfounded affront to them (from false teachers such as yourself and your mentor Mike Murdock). But strangely that is usually of no concern to people like you. Hmmm. I must ask, where is your love? If you have none then are you really of God? For He is love. With all your spewing of Mike Murdock’s twisted teachings (even true Scriptures and biblical facts twisted and applied for his own agenda), I have never accused you even once of anything remotely close to the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Have I? No. Never. And for the record, I do not believe that you have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. And, I wont turn this attack of yours around on you (like false teachers often do) and say that you have now blasphemed the Holy Spirit here by opposing my correct teaching about the Holy Spirit vs. the spirit of error. To accuse you of this would be wrong and would be a crime against you. Woe to you who put such burdens on others. You should be ashamed of yourself and deeply repent. I hope you never falsely accuse another human being of this as along as you live. My concern here is not for me but for others that do not know the truth about this subject. You have done me no damage. But what about the ones who might read your false accusation regarding my post and feel condemned themselves but don’t read on to see my correction to you? What about them? What about others that you might have said this to? Do you have any idea what you are doing? Honestly, I never expected that you would stoop this low. You are obviously beyond the shadow of a doubt (and we already knew this) the deeply dedicated disciple of a false teacher and your true colors are showing forth quite vividly. Maybe you are one of his staff members since all you basically do is promote Mike and re-publish his writings here. Or could you be Mike himself? I doubt it. Mike is far too busy making money with his business disguised as a ministry to have much time for such things. On the contrary to your accusation, I simply exposed the spirit of error that parades around as the Holy Spirit and you attacked me with one of the most dangerous tactics of the devil, one which has deeply scarred or destroyed many dear people. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 19 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.84.233 |
From Dream-Seeds by Dr. Mike Murdock Excerpt from Chapter 5: The Master Key of Imagination Jesus Saw Beyond The Cross Jesus was acquainted with sorrow. He knew pain. He experienced rejection. But something kept drawing Him toward the cross. Or, did He see something beyond the cross? "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb.12:2) His mind was on the Resurrection, not just calvery. He endured the pain of the Cross by concentrating on what was to follow His death. His focus was the Resurrection on the other side of the crucifixion. It was evident that Heaven was often on His mind while He was on earth. "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2) Some call it "goal-setting...visualization...imaging. You may call it anything you will. But it is a basic law in achieving great successes. Your life will always move in the direction of your dominating thought. Your imagination is the workshop of your mind. You can Dream, Design, and Determine whatever dominates your imagination today will very likely be experienced in your life tomorrow. ********************************** From Dreem-Seeds by Dr. Mike Murdock Available at www.thewisdomcenter.tv *************8******************** | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 20 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.84.233 |
From: The Wisdom Key Devotional Wisdom Keys of Mike Murdock Wisdom Key # 280 for October 7th: You Can Create With Your Seed What You Cannot Buy With Your Money. "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform." (Rom.4:20,21) | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 85 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.188 |
I quote your quote of Mike’s: “Some call it "goal-setting...visualization...imaging. You may call it anything you will. But it is a basic law in achieving great successes. Your life will always move in the direction of your dominating thought.” Visualization or imaging has been around for a very along time. It is a common occult shamanistic practice that opens up the practitioner to demonic activity and the resulting fallout which is often devastating. Many have truly achieved great worldly success by such selling-their-soul means. But unless they repent, the price that they will ultimately pay will be more than they ever imagined. Unfortunately, visualization techniques have crept into many churches in many different forms. Many Christians have been deceived. I highly recommend that you read “The Seduction of Christianity” by Dave Hunt for an in-depth study on the dangers of visualization. | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 86 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.188 |
I quote your quote of Mike’s: “You Can Create With Your Seed What You Cannot Buy With Your Money.” No you can’t. These are the ravings of people who are determined to have their own way. Jesus told us to pray for God’s will (not our will) to be done. When Mike talks about “seed”, he is usually always talking about money and Mike makes it very clear that he would like you to send “your seed” to him. In this quote he takes a slightly different and more magnanimous appearing slant on seed-faith than he normally does. Nevertheless, Mike doesn’t get his money by sowing his money or “seed” to you or anyone else. He gets his money by convincing you and others like you to ”sow” your money to him in the name of sowing to God. Get it? For you to have what Mike has and for you to get those things (big money, private jet, etc.) the way that Mike has gotten them, then you would need to DO what Mike does, which is to vigorously campaign to convince others to give money to you and justify it by misquoting and/or misapplying the Scriptures as false support for this highly unbiblical lifestyle. This is the fatal fundamental flaw in logic of the seed-faith error. The leaders and other teachers in this movement simply do not get their money in the same way that they tell their followers to get it. The Bible says that the Word is the seed, not money. Money is simply a tool that we can use to do good such as in giving to the poor. It is not a seed that we actively plant in order to get something for ourselves, even something that money cannot buy. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 21 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.84.233 |
From Dream Seeds by Dr. Mike Murdock ********************************** Chapter 5: The Master Key of Imagination Protect Your Mind and Imagination Thoughts will invade your imagination from almost everywhere. Thoughts of fear and unbelief are what I call disaster Seeds planted by satan. Thoughts of miracles and blessings are Dream-Seeds planted by God. Your imagination is not a referee. It will not judge whether the Seeds going into your mind are good or bad. It will simply grow whatever Seeds you decide to water and nurture. This is one of the reasons we need Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God in our lives. The Holy Spirit will help you harness and focus your imagination to grow your Dream-Seed planted by God. Your Imagination's Mate - Your Memory Your memory keeps files of the past: photographs of past painful experiences and those of past pleasurable experiences. Replaying these past triumphs and victories in your mind is a powerful way to motivate yourself toward your Dream-Seed. David did this when he faced Goliath. He replayed his memory of victory over the lion and the bear. His mental rehearsal ignited the fire of courage within him to face and conquer the giant Goliath. One of the most productive life-principles in the writings of Paul is found in Phlippians 3:13,14: "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." The prophet Isaiah commanded the same principle of forgetting. "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (IS;43:18,19) The healing of your memories will not remove your ability to recall your past, but rather give you the ability to replay the past without the accompanying pain. Joseph experienced this in Genesis 42. He recognized his brothers who had wronged him in his past, but he felt no animosity toward them. He had discerned the purpose of the pain and realized that God had actually used his unfortunate experience to promote him! Begin Using Your Imagination Productively Every great achiever has used the Master Key of Imagination to unlock the door to his miracles and blessings. God wants you to use your imagination the same way. Your marriage is being restored: Picture it. Your memory is being healed: Picture it. The healing power of Jesus is flowing through your body this very moment: Receive it. Money is being placed in your hands to pay your bills: Expect it. Your heavenly Father wants to bless you beyond anything you have ever experienced. Oh, will you dare to believe this? Will you dare to shake off the mistakes of the past - and reach for the miracles God desires to place in your hands? You can change what has been happening in your life! You can reverse yesterday's wrong decision by making a good decision today. You can turn the tide. Nothing is impossible. Nothing. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth". (Mark 9:23) Refuse the chains of past injustices. Do not waste your time analyzing those who have wronged you. Use your energy to create new roads ahead of you, not repairing the old roads behind you! Start focusing on your own immediate goals and the Dream-Seed ahead that God has planted within you. ********************************** From: Dream-Seeds by Mike Murdock | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 89 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.188 |
Again, this is all man-centered (business as usual for Mike). It’s all about you and you getting what you want. But the Bible is Christ-centered and simply does not teach this perspective. Now on to the shamanism you promote: I quote your quote of Mike’s: “Your marriage is being restored: Picture it. Your memory is being healed: Picture it.” When you start "picturing" things in your mind in an attempt to manipulate reality, now you've slid over into the realm of the occult. This is a well-documented underlying principle of shamanism. Mike incorrectly calls visualization imagination (read his use of the word imagination in your post). Substituting the word imagination makes it all look so innocent. But it’s not. Visualization is a dangerous practice. While there is nothing wrong with using your imagination to draw a picture, to fix something or to build an invention, this “picture it” stuff is simply occult visualization in disguise. | ||
| scoreperfect (scoreperfect) New member Username: scoreperfect Post Number: 22 Registered: 4-2005 Posted From: 68.164.84.233 |
"Never try to crowd a 8x10 idea into a 3x5 mind" Dr. Mike Murdock | ||
| paul_howey (paul_howey) Member Username: paul_howey Post Number: 92 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 67.175.179.188 |
Score, So now you've resorted to mere insult? So in your estimation Mike's occult teachings and thinking are higher or bigger than what God's Word teaches? Do you not see even the slightest problem with this? I have seen some pretty scary worldy worldviews but yours is among the worst. We are supposed to have a biblical worldview but you have a Murdock worldview. | ||
| trsrinheaven (trsrinheaven) Intermediate Member Username: trsrinheaven Post Number: 319 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 67.175.31.119 |
"Doctor"Mike has no phd or reputable degree from any accredited university or college that anyone could find. He calls himself Dr. Mike Murdock does have his 10-seat Israel Aircraft Industries turbojet owned by his ministry and valued at $1,055,550. In 2002, he also said, he bought a 1973 Cessna Citation 500, a corporate jet that usually seats six. Down on The Hacienda, or at least that's what Mike Murdock calls his Texas mansion, there's still another jetsetter with a penchant for exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion. ... Murdocks son Jason Murdock, 27, said "people sometimes question his father's methods as well as his fast cars, expensive jewelry and estate in Argyle, where he has kept exotic animals such as llamas, a camel, an antelope and a lion." Murdock has said ministers shouldn't have to apologize for having wealth. "Sometimes his lavishness is a little crazy," Jason Murdock said. "Who needs an African lion for a pet.(or to feed)?" Mike Murdock's "wisdom faith keys" might simply ignite his jet engines. You gotta be careful with that faith-thinking, Mikey, so as not to unintentionally blast into orbit. How stupid to give money to this lust filled spender of peoples offering money on his over the top ridiculous lavish bad stewardship. Bad stewardship ground to plant in for no return but Murdocks pocket. | ||
| getagrip Junior Member Username: getagrip Post Number: 46 Registered: 6-2005 Posted From: 65.13.197.170 |
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