Top Ten Blog Posts of 2017

In 2017, the following ten posts received the most page views:
10. K-LOVE’s Pledge Drive: Money Behind the Music (2017)
9. Former Newsping Pastor Perry Noble Incorporates Second Change Church (2017)
8. American College of Pediatricians v. American Academy of Pediatrics: Who Leads and Who Follows? (2011)
7. After the Demise of Mars Hill Church Mark Driscoll Landed on His Feet with Over One Million in Donations (2017)
6. IRS and Postal Service Agents on Scene at Benny Hinn’s Office (2017)
5. Mark Driscoll Spins the End of Mars Hill Church (2017)
4. A Major Study of Child Abuse and Homosexuality Revisited (2009)
3. Former CFO at Turning Point Claims David Jeremiah Used Questionable Methods to Secure a Spot on Best Seller Lists (2015)
2. What’s Going on at Harvest Bible Fellowship? James MacDonald Resigns as President of HBF (2017)
and the #1 post is:

  1. Open Letter to Gateway Pastor Robert Morris from a Former Member of Mars Hill Church (2014)

 
Some past posts have aged well. The 2009 post regarding child abuse and non-heterosexuality has been in the top ten nearly every year since 2009.counseling image 2 Readers continue to be interested in Mars Hill Church and various players surrounding the demise of that church.
Although the page views don’t show it, the story that continues to be covered here and almost nowhere else is the Gospel for Asia saga. The target of federal scrutiny and two RICO lawsuits in the U.S., GFA has also initiated and been involved in various legal actions in India. Although the scope of the GFA empire dwarfs other organizations I have examined, it continues to fly along under the radar.
For a profile of my work and the role blogging has played in it, see this lengthy article by Jon Ward in Yahoo News earlier this month.

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After IRS Raid, Benny Hinn Ministries Claims Full Cooperation with Governmental Entities

Via the organization’s Facebook page earlier this evening, Benny Hinn Ministries issued a statement about the IRS/Postal Service raid on their headquarters:

As has been widely reported, Benny Hinn Ministries is cooperating fully with the governmental entities that are reviewing certain operations of the Church.
The ministry has undergone intense scrutiny over the years, and we remain confident that there will again be a positive and speedy outcome in the days ahead.
Pastor Benny appreciates the love, prayers, and support of our beloved partners as we continue to minister the saving and healing Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Most of the many comments on the page seem supportive of Hinn.
“Reviewing certain operations of the Church” seems to be a pretty positive spin on a raid that went from 9 AM yesterday morning until sometimePolice Guarding Entrance after 10:30 PM last night. It is hard to see how a truck load of documents in the hands of the IRS will yield a speedy outcome. As I told the Daily Caller’s Eric Owen last night, Hinn is innocent until proven guilty, but I hope the attention to this situation will lead to improved transparency and accountability for religious businesses such as Hinn’s.

Where in the World is Benny Hinn?

Police Guarding Entrance
Police block entrance to Hinn’s HQ

The day after the IRS raided evangelist Benny Hinn’s Grapevine, TX headquarters, Hinn remains silent.  No one from the Hinn camp has spoken and Hinn may not want to be located. From reading a Daily Caller piece about the raid, I learned that a video of Hinn speaking in France yesterday has been removed from Twitter. I posted a link to the tweet in my report on the raid yesterday, but now that link doesn’t work because the tweet has been removed.
 
Hinn missing Tweet

So where in the world is Benny Hinn?

Probably, Hinn is traveling to Ukraine. His website says he will rock Kyiv tomorrow with a healing service. I wonder if he address the raid before he returns to the U.S.

Hinn schedule
From Benny Hinn’s website