In a mailing to donors asking for money for new church construction in India, Gospel for Asia has changed their promise about how funds are used.
On their website, GFA still promises that 100% of donations go to the “field” with nothing taken out for administrative costs.
However, in this new mailing, GFA tells donors:
I wonder how long the 100% promise will remain on the website. As of right now, the messages are contradictory. Website donors are still being misled. This new appeal appears to be how GFA has done business in the past. According to the ECFA, GFA has used donor money for purposes other than intended. This new mailing asks for money for churches (see the letter and enclosures), but the disclaimer tells the donor that the money may not go to build a church.
Given the documentation that GFA is using money in India to purchase land, schools, and medical centers for income production, donors should be aware that the money you hope goes to build a church may build a business instead.
Month: March 2016
Former Bush Administration Lawyer Harriet Miers is Member of Gospel for Asia's Legal Defense Team
When it comes to legal defense against the recently filed RICO lawsuit, Gospel for Asia is going big.
Locke Lord of Dallas is a large firm which boasts former Bush Administration Chief Counsel to the President Harriet Miers. Miers is among the attorneys who will represent the GFA defendants. In 2005, Miers was nominated by Bush to fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s seat. However, the administration later withdrew her name amid controversy.
If GFA is paying full freight, I suspect the “Where Most Needed” fund is going to take a big hit.
Ted Cruz Says Politicians Should Not Wear Their Faith on Their Sleeve
My head exploded when I heard this:
Ted Cruz sounded critical of politicians who say God told them to run. Oh my.
He needs to have a conversation and at least his father, wife, David Barton and Glenn Beck. Just days ago, Beck told Utah that Cruz had been anointed by God to be president.
What Cruz said was fine but there is no evidence that any of his closest advisors and supporters think so.
David Barton and Tithing: I Wonder What's On Ted Cruz's Odometer?
On his Foundations of Freedom program, president of one of Ted Cruz’s Super PACs David Barton told Glenn Beck that God will bless you if you tithe, including — as an illustration — the provision of a car that run for 200,000 miles. He seems to have a similar view of the subject as does Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris and Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael. Watch this clip provided by Right Wing Watch:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJddWVhOqoQ[/youtube]
I would like one of the Cruz inner circle to explain how Ted Cruz can hope to be blessed when he has admitted that he doesn’t tithe. The elder Cruz and Barton earnestly teach tithing as a prerequisite to being blessed. Since Cruz hasn’t (doesn’t?) tithed, how can Beck and Barton claim Cruz is the man God sent to be president?
Trump's Campaign Manager Charged with Battery; Trump Says Nothing Happened
Corey Lewandowski was charged today with battery in the case of former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. Here is the security footage. Fields is next to Trump and Lewandowski is behind her. What do you see?
To get oriented, here is a screen cap at the beginning with the people identified.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGz5DPqU-p0[/youtube]
Here is Trump’s tweet about it:
Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my campaign manager and a very decent man, was just charged with assaulting a reporter. Look at tapes-nothing there!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2016
For his part, Lewandowski says he never touched her:
Who’s right?
Gospel for Asia Defendants Request Extension to Prepare Response to RICO Suit
Gospel for Asia defendants K.P. Yohannan, Gisela Yohannan, Daniel Punnose, David Carroll, and Pat Emerick have requested until May 9, 2016 to respond to the RICO lawsuit filed on behalf of former GFA donors Matthew and Jennifer Dickson.
In February, the Dicksons filed a racketeering suit against the leadership of Gospel for Asia alleging misuse of funds and fraud (click link for the suit and more information).
The entire document is here.
UPDATE: Although the defense requested 60 days to prepare a response, the judge shortened the period to end April 15. In exchange for the extension, the defense agreed to accept service on the suit on behalf of K.P. Yohannan who apparently is still out of the country. GFA’s defendants are being represented by Locke Lord, a prominent law firm in Dallas.
The Order on Motion for Extension of Time to Answer is below:
Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church Holds Open House Amid Protest
Four protesters and at least one news crew greeted Mark Driscoll’s debut in Phoenix on Sunday evening.
According to one protester, the police arrived to tell the picketers that the sidewalk was public property. On person on the scene estimated that about 40 cars were in the parking lot about 15 minutes before the service, some with Washington plates. Another thought more like 70 cars were in the lot by the beginning of the service.
Driscoll was interviewed by Jeff Van Sant at KPHO/KTVK – Phoenix. According to a report filed by Jeff Van Sant, Driscoll denied the charges in the RICO lawsuit.
Here is Van Sant’s report:
azfamily.com 3TV | Phoenix Breaking News, Weather, Sport
Driscoll says he has not been served the lawsuit. Then he says the charges are false and malicious. If he doesn’t know anything about it then how can he say anything about the nature of the charges. We know that the church used Result Source to prop up his book. He admitted that and stopped using the description of bestselling author because the scheme was made public. Furthermore, it is well documented that Mars Hill lawyers warned Sutton Turner against revealing how much of the Global Fund went to international mission work.
So I Got Duped
So I got duped by the Steven Smith parody account…shame on me. I’m in good company but it still stinks.
In a little while I will probably delete this post but for now, I am eating humble pie.
On the subject of the original post, the Daily Beast is reporting that Rubio allies tried to sell the Cruz affairs story for months.
Christ is Risen – Matt Maher
He is Risen!
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IExdrZGQVeI[/youtube]
Happy Easter 2016…
Gospel for Asia Brags About Supplying a Drop of Water in New Delhi's Beleaguered Bucket
Gospel for Asia has been on a roll with press releases claiming to help India’s poor. The most recent one touts their efforts to ease a water crisis in the state of Delhi. The crisis has been exacerbated by political protests.
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers delivered nearly 4,000 gallons of water this week on World Water Day (March 22) to stricken residents of three areas in Delhi, hard-hit by a disruption in the city’s main supply source caused by a political protest.
Water was distributed to more than 1,000 people in three Delhi neighborhoods, with each household receiving two to 13 gallons. Residents there have suffered from severe water shortages, requiring residents to buy water daily until recently.
Perhaps 4,000 gallons sounds like a lot, but it is just a drop in a very large bucket.
According to a CNN report, it would take millions of gallons to make an impact.
As of Tuesday evening, the government had restored 80 million of the 580 million gallons that flow from the damaged canal daily. It is not clear when Delhi’s water supply will return to normal.
It costs about a dollar a gallon for commercially available bottled water in Delhi, so GFA’s big investment in the water crisis could have cost them a little over $4000.00 at most.
However, it was probably much less than that. According to the press release, GFA used tankers to bring in the water.
“We sent in tanker trucks to help those with life-threatening needs,” said K.P. Yohannan, founder and international director of GFA.
In 2012, one could rent a tanker which carries about the same amount of water GFA gave away for around $30. The same amount in the Fall of 2015 might go for as high as $50. The most recent source I found (last month) said tanker trucks providing the amount described by the press release could be secured for just over $60 (4000 rupees for 12000 liters).
Given the source of the press release, it probably took more money to pay for the publication of the release than it took to provide the water.
Even if the cost was around $4000, that is about 4 times what little Sayaan Ali needed to get life saving medical care and a whole lot less than the $74 million sitting in Indian banks from foreign contributors.