It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be headed to church for the first time this year. And that inspired us to bring back one of your favorite slide shows: Megachurch scandals.
Megachurches in the United States have often been notoriously rife with scandal and dark secrets. While most of you have probably heard of Hillsong Church or Eddie Long, scandal has touched plenty of other congregations.
Here are the top megachurch scandals you should know about.
Bishop Eddie Long was the senior pastor at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia. Long built his congregation to a staggering 25,000 — but allegations of sexual abuse rocked the church.
Bishop Eddie Long, who passed away in 2017, was accused of sexually abusing four young men — one of whom said he was 17 at the time of the abuse. Long denied the allegations.
In 1994, Reverend Henry Lyons was elected to lead the National Baptist Convention, the largest Black Baptist organization in the United States.
Things quickly soured. And in 1999, “he was convicted of using fraud and extortion to steal millions of dollars,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. Upon his release from prison, the Tampa Bay Times reported that he had diverted funds from a Tampa based church that “offered him redemption”. His new church voted to oust him over alleged “financial improprieties,” according to the local outlet’s reporting.
TD Jakes is a non-denominational televangelist and the senior pastor of Potter’s House.
Note: this is very different from the other cases. TD Jakes was engulfed in social media drama over internet rumors that he’d attended Diddy’s sex parties. He denied the rumors and there’s no evidence that this happened.
Televangelist Juanita Bynum was once called the “most prominent black female television evangelist” by the New York Times, which made her fall from grace all the more shocking
Benny Hinn was a popular televangelist who was popular for his “Miracle Crusades” summits, where he claimed to be able to do spiritual healing.
Like many televangelists, Hinn has come under fire for living a lavish lifestyle off the back of his ministry and his alleged “faith healing” powers. According to the Ledger, Hinn was also accused of having a “inappropriate relationship” with fellow-televangelist Paula White.
Joyce Meyers is an incredibly popular American christian author and speaker in St. Louis, Missouri. A tragic series of deaths changed everything.
The chief of security of Joyce Meyer Ministries was convicted for the murder of his wife and two sons were found dead from strangulation. The wife’s family sued Joyce Meyer Ministries for wrongful death alleging that they were responsible for not preventing the murders. However, that lawsuit was thrown out.
Jimmy Swaggart was a popular American Pentecostal pastor.
Jimmy Swaggart’s faced a ton of criticism once it came out that despite preaching family values and condemning adultery, he’d had an affair with a sex worker, who he was reportedly photographed with. He stepped down from his position.
In 1983, Brian and Bobbie Houston founded the Pentecostal church in Australia before opening a United States branch in 2010. The “hip” church boasted several high profile celebrity congregants, including Justin Bieber and Kevin Durant.
Founder Brian Houston resigned over allegations that he behaved inappropriately towards women in the congregation. Houston was also investigated for allegedly illegally covering up child sexual abuse. However, he was ultimately acquitted.
The former lead pastor of Hillsong’s New York branch, Carl Lentz, also faced scrutiny. Lentz was reportedly fired from Hillsong in 2020 for “moral failures.” He later admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, Laura Lentz, who was also a pastor at Hillsong.
Victory Christian Centre was a massive evangelical church based in London run by pastor Douglass Goodman and his wife Erica Goodman. However, in the early 2000s, Goodman’s double-life came to light.
Three women and one 17 year-old girl came forward saying that Pastor Douglass Goodman had made unwanted sexual advances towards them. In 2004, he was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault, one count of attempted indecent assault, and one count of perverting the course of justice. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The church was later closed.
Chapel Hill Harvester Church in Atlanta, Georgia, once boasted over 10,000 members. But a scandal no one could have anticipated brought the whole thing toppling down.
In the early 2007, 80 year-old Archbishop Earl Paulk revealed a startling secret. He’d slept with his brother’s wife and his “nephew,” D.E. Paulk, was actually his son. But that wasn’t the darkest revelation. Multiple women came forward alleging that they had been coerced into having sex with Paulk and other high-profile church administrators.
Creflo Dollar, a televangelist who preaches the prosperity gospel founded the non-denominational Christian World Changers Church in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. But things took a wild turn!
Creflo Dollar primarily came under fire for asking his congregants to donate $300 each so he could get a $65 million jet. On a darker note, Dollar was arrested for allegedly assaulting his 15 year-old daughter.
Joe Barron was a pastor at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. But in 2008, the 26,000 member church was turned upside down.
In 2008, pastor Joe Barron resigned after being charged with online solicitation of a minor as a part of an online bust. Barron resigned shortly after his arrest.
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational church run by televangelist Joel Osteen in Houston, Texas.
Osteen came under fire for his response to Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the Houston area. Critics came after the church for not opening their doors to flood victims. However, the church later donated a significant amount of money to the post-Hurricane reconstruction effort.
Televangelist Paula White founded Without Walls International Church in Lakeland, Fl., alongside her husband, Randy. She later rose to political prominence as an advisor to former President Donald Trump.
We already got into the Benny Hinn stuff up-top if you’re interested, but there’s more to discuss. White was also accused of trying to unjustly take over the church of the late-Zachery Tims, who was Black. His wife ultimately dropped the lawsuit she filed against White.
