http://www.wcnc.com/news/iteam/I-Team-How-a-pastor-paid-for-his-multi-million-dollar-home-228870731.html

Quote :

"How a pastor built a multi-million dollar home "

Quote :

"Now, Steven Furtick is spending a lot of that money on a 16,000 square foot house in Weddington. It has 7 ½ bathrooms, according to building permits, which put the contract value of the house alone just shy of $1.4 million. The land cost another $325,000, for a total cost of more than $1.7 million."

What is up with Charlotte and their kookie for profit preachers. Don't ever hear about news like this coming from Raleigh, Columbia, Charleston, etc......

It's like Jim Bakker version 2

10/23/2013 4:18:48 PM

Wonder if this guy has the gold doorknobs like Bakker did. After his shit burned down, that was all that was left.

10/23/2013 4:29:41 PM

Quote :

"Don't ever hear about news like this coming from Raleigh, Columbia, Charleston, etc......"

you watch the news in all these areas?

10/23/2013 4:39:38 PM

Not saying these guys aren't skimming from the church, but there are lots of ways these mega-church preachers can rake in the cash. Books, CDs, radio shows, speaking engagements, leading "revivals", etc. Honestly the church members should request an inquiry to his finances and go from there.

If there is corruption, it probably flows throughout the leadership of that church and they are all complicit. Also this really is not that much different than what happens at a lot of private companies. The only difference is the private companies don't let this leak to the news.

But I think your main point is to point to the hypocrisy/greed of this preacher and on that point I agree 100%.



[Edited on October 23, 2013 at 5:44 PM. Reason : h]

10/23/2013 5:42:52 PM

I remember something about a camel, a needle, and a rich man...

Nevermind, that's definitely the Quran I'm thinking of.

Quote :

"Also this really is not that much different than what happens at a lot of private companies. The only difference is the private companies don't let this leak to the news."

The difference is that private companies exist (and depend on) profit and monetary incentives. Churches live and die on donations. Religious institutions are supposed to transcend all of those worldly temptations, kind of like the government.

[Edited on October 23, 2013 at 6:55 PM. Reason : ]

10/23/2013 6:27:42 PM

Elevation does a lot of good in the Charlotte area. Also, while that is a huge home, Steven Furtick does have a growing family to house.

10/24/2013 10:25:10 PM

^^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle

Also found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_poverty_and_wealth

10/24/2013 10:52:33 PM

i hate when i accidentally watch a few minutes of this guy's show (it comes on right after Saturday Night Live)

but he's sold a number of books and has other books coming out and supposedly took out the loan on his house from current and projected future book sales

i don't really get all the outrage here

10/24/2013 11:47:16 PM

I believe the outrage stems from the notion that men of the cloth should lead humble lives not filled with worldly possessions.

10/25/2013 8:33:44 AM

A 1.7 million dollar property just isn't that extravagant, especially for a megachurch pastor. Plus, there are so many preachers and pastors of all kinds living very well...it doesn't seem right to single this guy out. They're all con artists so I guess it's not that bad to call him out, but it's hardly news.

10/25/2013 9:10:24 AM

god this thread title is stupid.

10/25/2013 9:15:13 AM

^^I would say its a bit much for a young preacher to build something that extravagant. More to the point, his book sales are absolutely intertwined with the church. The church paid for full page ads promoting it and the church paid for backpack donations that were tied to purchases of the book. But the profits from the sale of the book went to the preacher, not to the church.

More importantly to me is the weird Board of Overseers at the church who set his salary. Most churches have a Board of Deacons or something that are members of the church elected by the church. They have the say on finances in the church. But at Elevation its other pastors scattered all around the country, who are paid to come guest preach at Elevation. The church members themselves have no say, no oversight, and can't even find out what he makes. They even have to sign confidentiality agreements to volunteer in the church! The lack of transparency is shocking to me.

This was all covered in part 2 of that story:

http://www.wcnc.com/home/I-Team-Pastors-salary-set-by-board-not-congregation-229010291.html

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 9:41 AM. Reason : ]

10/25/2013 9:38:29 AM

Charlotte and their Kookie Munsters

10/25/2013 10:01:34 AM

how people can defend a christian preacher living such a lavish lifestyle is beyond me. how a person who is supposedly a leader of christians can live a lifestyle like this knowing all the suffering going on around them is beyond me. it really makes you wonder what some christians consider to be a "christian lifestyle".

10/25/2013 10:07:08 AM

From what I've read, this guy is really close to that "God wants you to be wealthy" philosophy a la Creflo Dollar.

This is not surprising.

10/25/2013 10:11:41 AM

Prosperity Gospel folks, this ain't new.

10/25/2013 10:30:23 AM

I may be naive, but I feel like the RDU area doesn't have nearly the crazy, religious, mega-church fervor that Charlotte has.

I don't know this for fact, but between the Bakkers, that bigass ugly pink church in Charlotte built in the 90s, and now the guy from this thread, it seems like Charlotte's religious crazy is turned up to 11.

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 10:32 AM. Reason : .]

10/25/2013 10:32:18 AM

Quote :

"that bigass ugly pink church in Charlotte built in the 90s"

I think you might be confusing Cavalry with The Arlington

10/25/2013 10:40:21 AM

^Calvary Church was pink. They replaced the stucco about 5 years ago.

10/25/2013 10:42:12 AM

i guess this is pink, but the glass stands out a lot more than the structure

10/25/2013 10:43:20 AM

that picture was taken after the fact. got to find a picture pre-2008 to see what he was referring to.

10/25/2013 10:49:50 AM

Durham has one really big megachurch:

http://www.woccrtp.com/

Average attendance is north of 10k. Durham also has The Summit (6k) and Newhope (4k). Raleigh's only massive church is Hope Community at around 8k, but it has campuses all over the area same as Newhope (which has one in N.Raleigh and Garner).

We just attended a service at Newhope a couple weeks ago and liked it alright. I didn't realize that one of the preachers kids has been in class with my oldest son for two straight years and they are friends, but that was kind of the impetus after a coworker invited us. I have met his mom and she was kinda shy and quiet and nothing like what I would expect from a megachurch preachers wife. I also easily found where they live and it wasn't in some trust with a different name on it to hide it. Still don't know if we will make that "our" church, but it was an alright experience. I am not one that goes all in during worship services and gets super into the music, but I did like the Benji's going in depth on a specific chapter of the Bible. He didn't preach from his book or anything like that and I appreciated that.

10/25/2013 10:54:04 AM

Quote :

"Sayer: I may be naive, but I feel like the RDU area doesn't have nearly the crazy, religious, mega-church fervor that Charlotte has."

Yes. I think the RDU area has a bajillion times more nerds than Charlotte.

10/25/2013 10:56:50 AM

I forgot one. What about the cult around RDU? I had a former roommate take all of us to it one day. I remember it was in a business park off like Aviation. That place wasn't big but it was definitely the sketchiest "church" I have ever been to.

10/25/2013 10:58:44 AM

The Legacy Center

It's not a church.

10/25/2013 11:07:29 AM

^^ Summit Church? Probably the closest thing to a mega-church in Triangle area. They have several satellite churches in the area.

10/25/2013 11:15:01 AM

^^That place is kinda crazy and might be it, but the place I went to met on Sunday in Perimeter Park. Is that the same one? It has been like over a decade so I don't remember much more than they wanted you to buy their special "worship" book.

^I mentioned Summit a couple posts up as one of the "megachurches"

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 11:26 AM. Reason : ]

10/25/2013 11:25:54 AM

My bad. We're definitely not thinking of the same place.

10/25/2013 11:37:45 AM

Yep. That's the one! It used to be much pinker.

After looking it up, it was designed and built by the same guy who built Heritage USA for the Bakkers, and who ended up marrying Tammy Bakker after she divorced Jim Bakker. Small world.

On a side note, what's the appeal of going to a mega church over a small church? I'm not religious so I can't relate.

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 12:43 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2013 12:43:34 PM

I imagine it's something like wanting to be a part of the popular clique in high school.

10/25/2013 12:46:00 PM

Quite a few people I went to HS with all attend the same mega church. I believe they subscribe to what was described above ^. Whatever floats your boat.

10/25/2013 1:09:32 PM

can i get cool t-shirts to wear under my north face jacket from a mega-church? is it like the adult young life? adult life?

10/25/2013 1:48:52 PM

next time, try harder to avoid the name

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 2:08 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2013 1:51:50 PM

Did people get on Billy Graham for owning a bunch of real estate? I get the whole argument that Jesus never owned property nor did the majority of his disciples. Should celebrity Christians not own real estate? Are they hypocrites for not mirroring their life exactly after Jesus? I'm trying to follow the logic being used here.

10/25/2013 2:27:11 PM

Owning some property is different than building a $1.7 million dollar house.

But yeah, Billy Graham and his family aren't much better (although he doesn't seem to be quite as self-indulgent)

10/25/2013 2:41:00 PM

If you are a rich religious person, you can live a simple life in a simple house, but still buy and sell real estate (houses, land) to make profit, which you can then use to benefit your family (education, essentials, but not luxuries) and mainly to benefit the needy and meek.

That's how a real religious person would do it, no matter from which religion.

10/25/2013 2:41:27 PM

Billy Graham owned a lot of it for the Billy Graham Foundation, and ran religious institutions, classes, retreats, etc. from them. Furtick seems to be trying his best to hide that he is building a big ass McMansion for himself behind trusts and hidden salary information. The Graham's have that stuff out in the public.

10/25/2013 2:46:38 PM

I think Furtick is a good person with genuine motives. With him being a celebrity of sorts I can understand how he might want to own a large piece of secluded real estate for some privacy with his family. I am a bit dumdfounded that he is building a 16,000 sq ft McMansion but who am I to judge. Also, famous people hide their assets and this behavior is nothing new.

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 2:56 PM. Reason : ]

10/25/2013 2:55:33 PM

Quote :

" I think Furtick is a good person with genuine motives."

Just curious, what do you base this on?

Quote :

"Also, famous people hide their assets and this behavior is nothing new."

As has been mentioned, it's a little different when you're a preacher, and supposed to be the leader of christians, and supposed to be leading by example, and you're selling a religion (and church donations aren't taxed)

10/25/2013 2:59:49 PM

Clearly the pastor in this thread is up to some shady stuff. And yes, a true Christian preacher would not need to lead a lavish lifestyle. Nothing wrong with him wanting to live comfortably for the sake of his family, but a $1.7 million home is crazy. Members of his church should be questioning their church's leadership.



[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 3:03 PM. Reason : sd]

10/25/2013 3:01:06 PM

I don't think its fair to define his lifestyle as lavish. Also, patrons of Elevation are free to choose any church they decide to go to.

10/25/2013 3:24:02 PM

Quote :

"Also, patrons of Elevation are free to choose any church they decide to go to."

This is why I don't feel sorry for them, not that I'm sure I should anyway.

10/25/2013 3:37:19 PM

If you don't define a local preacher with a $1.7 million dollar house as living lavishly, what's your definition of "lavish"?

Quote :

"Also, patrons of Elevation are free to choose any church they decide to go to."

sure they are. that's not the point. the point is this dude is supposedly a man of religion, a follower of christ. not only is he a follower of christ, he's a leader of many other christians who supposedly follow christ. there are so many better things that $1.7 million dollars could be spent on than a $1.7 million home for his family.

again, it baffles me that any christian could defend this guy and his $1.7 million house, knowing that he could still live comfortably and use a large portion of that money for actual christian purposes. jesus must be spinning in his grave (i mean in heaven)

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 3:59 PM. Reason : ]

10/25/2013 3:37:52 PM

If this isn't the definition of con man...

10/25/2013 4:37:17 PM

I agree with the notion that preachers shouldn't live lavishly. It's fine if they have a lot of extra money, but that money could be used for outreach instead of a fancier house, car, etc. Having the lavish lifestyle also raises questions about a preacher's motives; he/she looks as though they are focusing on worldly status symbols and things, which according to the Bible is wrong.

10/25/2013 4:40:57 PM

Quote :

"Also, patrons of Elevation are free to choose any church they decide to go to."

Exactly and if any of them have any common sense, they will either demand new leadership or go to a new church. Bullet has been right on with his posts in this thread.

10/25/2013 5:23:30 PM

I never had a problem with this unless the IRS gets involved and start cleaning house. that man has 15000 members and eight locations. all those people paid him money. he spends the money. the church actually does a lot of community fellowship in Charlotte. I tell his members if you dont like it then stop putting cash in that basket when it comes around.


people are always putting preachers on pedestals. At the end of day it's a man who talks about something that another person already wrote down. they're dudes at the end of day.

10/25/2013 5:56:27 PM

I said the same thing about Jim Bakker. people from all over the country were giving him $1000 weekly. literally. stop paying him that money and he wont have AC in his doghouse. that's goes for anybody. preacher or not.

10/25/2013 5:59:31 PM

questions:
If Steven Furtick was African American would this uproar over his personal spending be considered newsworthy / possibly racist? Also, does anyone know if Furtick has a fleet of BMWs, Benzes, Cadillacs, etc? Does he dine like a king? Are all the fixtures in his home 24kt gold?

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 6:12 PM. Reason : ]

10/25/2013 6:09:56 PM

Quote :

"16,000 sq ft McMansion"

fwiw, it's about 8,400 heated sf

and it has 5 bedrooms, and he's married with 3 kids

[Edited on October 25, 2013 at 7:14 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2013 7:11:55 PM