House of Praise

KFOR, our local NBC affiliate, did a piece during the 10 o'clock news last night about the homes of high profile OKC pastors. This is a direct fallout from the ORU scandal, wherein people are finally becoming aware of how Oral, Richard, and Lindsay Roberts have been spending donor money for a long time. (Side note: this is no surprise to anyone familiar with the movement. A tell-all book was written right after Lindsay joined the family many years ago.)

Again, it's funny to me how people outside the church are able to see through the bullshit to the heart of the matter. The high profile pastors lived in houses with values ranging from 95,000 (People's Church, Assembly of God) to 987,000 dollars (Crossings Community Church, Church of God, Anderson). For those of you not living in Oklahoma, you need to know that property is cheap here. Here's a rough example. My wife and I live in a 2100 sq. ft, 3-bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 1-year old house on one acre for which we paid 235,000 dollars. The homes of these pastors, at least the ones above a half million dollars, ranged in size from 5000 to 8000 sq. ft. Do the math for Colorado and California to see what the local equivalent would be. I'm guessing we're looking at 3-5 million easy.

Marty Grubbs, the pastor of Crossings, declined to be interviewed. Imagine that. Another notable exception, Craig Groeschel, pastor of Lifechurch.tv, declined to answer questions about where he lived and why no real estate records exist in his or his wife's name for their home in Edmond. I happen to know a little about Craig's house and I can speculate as to its value, but I'll wait to see if anyone from Lifechurch.tv wants to pony up an answer. My guess is that Craig has his home in a relative's name, possibly an in-law, or that he, being a finance major in college, has set up a trust or corporation in some name unrelated to lifechurch.tv. I understand the need for privacy, but the question about his home's value didn't seem all that invasive. In fact, at a time when 501(c)3's are coming under scrutiny, even from Congress, it might be a good idea to put speculation to rest by just telling the truth.

The reporter went on to ask a question about Jesus living in an 8000 sq. ft. house. The man on the street interviews, all conducted with "churchgoers," was predictable, ranging from "God has blessed him" to "he's just like everyone else." One man did say he'd be concerned if his pastor was living in a million dollar home. One of Marty's family members offered the explanation that Grubbs's home was purchased with help from his wife's second income. Okay, I don't think affordability is the question here. I'm pretty sure it's more about what is appropriate. KFOR seems to understand that, but people in the church were confused. Hmm...tell me again why it's a bad idea for me not to be one of the sheeple.

Comments

[Chris]

Context -- Here is the OK County Page for Marty's house:

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/AN-R.asp?ACCOUNTNO=R200671220

The house was purchased for 675, and according to OK County Assessor has appreciated in value by $300,000 since 2000. And, it comes in under 5,000 square feet.

Make of that what you will

And, for Life Church pastor, if I did the search right, this is his house:

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/AN-R.asp?ACCOUNTNO=R188401090

[Chris]

Those links didn't come out right.

Just search on Martin Grubbs

And here is the parcel number for what I think is Craig's house, use it for searching:

R188401090

[Leighton]

Link 1 and Link 2 fixed.

[Tim Sean]

I wanted to see this but was out of town. I work as an associate minister and the church that employs me has our salaries posted clearly. I like the transparency. As much as I hate it some days, we are supposed to model, to a great degree, what following Jesus means.

I've noticed even, as one who works with teens, that most parents do not share with their kids how much they make, what they spend, what their mortgage is, etc. How are they supposed to learn how to handle money thoughtfully?

Intentional Christian communities like the Iona folks in Scotland require that you give a full account of your money in order to provide accountability--that would be for all members, not just leaders. They don't force people to spend their money in certain ways, they just encourage people to talk through what they are spending it on.

[padraic]

i really miss these conversations, you always bring a new way of seeing and thinking about issues that most people choose to ignore.
I have found great inspiration in your use of words like "pogrum" "$2 whores" and "sheeple" You really pull off being an ass well, keep it up

[Dallas Tim]

What's a "Padraic?"

[greg]

Tim,

That would be his name.

[Leighton]

It's the (um, ack) Scottish or Irish form of Patrick, I can't remember which, and mixing the two is a serious faux pas. Sorry.

[Kristen]

Whatever you do, just don't call him "Padwick". ;)

[Dallas Tim]

Greg,

I knew it was a name or tricky moniker. I just wanted to poke a little fun at him for calling you an ass.

[greg]

Tim,

Thanks, but Padraic is a good friend. He lived here before moving to KC for seminary. His hot, nurse wife is one of the hot, hairdresser wife's favorite people in the world.

[Scott]

Liked the last two lines.

[bobstevens]

Craig's house doesn't seem *that* out of line, if that's it.

5600 sqft, 13.2 acres, $440k

Bigger than most, I suppose. I'm not really sure what to expect out of people.

I had a prof/pastor in school who, despite already living pretty modestly, moved his family into a smaller/cheaper house so he could focus more financial attention on ministry. That's a guy with a handle on things.