2014 THE YEAR OF ENEMIES IN MEGA CHURCHES
Carpenter’s Home Church, the original mega dream church of Assembly of God Pastor and Board of Directors of Oral Roberts member Karl Strader, is an albatross and now the problem of Randy White, founder and leader of Without Walls International Church, It’s a battle that indirectly pits the pastor, against his former wife, Paula White, who left the church about 2 years ago.
(http://www.theledger.com/article/20130531/NEWS/130539912 )
Christian News Today reported that South African Pentecostal Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne who became a naturalized American and taught that “sheep needed to be fleeced or they would have too much hair and could not see where they are going. It was the pastor’s job to fleece the sheep “will hold a ten year revival reunion on November 22, 2003 at Carpenter’s Home Church, Lakeland, Florida! But Rodney is still leery of senior Pastor Karl Strader who according to former Pastor Jack Collins skimmed money from Rodney’s offerings!
Dr. Rodney Howard- Browne had been credited with bringing the laughter revival to America. But from what really happened in Carpenter’s Home Church in 1993 and 1994 and its devastating effect on the community including the robbing, raping and murdering of the sheep, was not much of a revival.
The leadership of the Assembly of God denomination both in Lakeland and Missouri also would not accept the testimony of one of its members Roy Aldrich that he was robbed and raped by money changers and wolves in sheep’s clothing in Carpenter’s Home Church during the so called “revival”. But the State of Florida who cared about justice, righteousness and truth accepted the words and testimony of Roy Aldrich about the Straders.
The Florida State prosecutors proved their case and convinced the jurors that Dan Strader, the son of the senior pastor Karl Strader, devised an elaborate scheme to attract cash in the real-estate and mortgage investments. He was selling the securities without a license and that the securities were unregistered. This was done in an organized method amounting to Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act.
Daniel, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in August 1995. He was convicted of 238 felony counts for bilking 57 mostly elderly investors, some members of the church, out of $2.3 million by selling investments in properties that didn’t exist or already had liens against them. Others who were involved along with Dan Strader were not pursed by the State of Florida as they felt that the conviction of Daniel Strader was a good example for others to take notice.
Dr Rodney Howard Browne used his influence and powers to raise money at Carpenter’s Home Church to buy the senior pastor Karl Strader his much needed second Lincoln Town Car. But when Rodney was requested to use his influence and power to raise money for the unfortunate elderly victims of Dan’s Strader, he refused.
The problem with lying and thieving preachers in America is that they all preach to others but never listen to others. They are after all better than their sheep? Someone should tell some of these preachers who said I was demon possessed and needed to get a life because I don’t do what they did, that robbing and raping the money and well being of the sheep under their care is not just a “white collar crime.” They should read their own bible that they talk so much about and see what God said to Eli and his raping and thieving sons:
Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? ‘Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? ‘Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ “Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the LORD says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:27-30
Dr. Randy White, the powerhouse founder and Senior Pastor of Without Walls International Church (WWIC), suffered his first major setback after getting involved with deceiving and treacherous Pastor Karl Strader whose son is serving a 45 year jail sentence for crimes he committed with the help of his father. Calling it “very disappointing,” officials of a large Pentecostal church in Tampa, Fla., said they have failed to reach a deal to buy what was once one of the largest churches in the world, reported Charisma News Services. Randy, who drives a Cadillac Escalade and the side is emblazoned with “Big Daddy,” and friends had tried buying off the Straders with money collected from the offerings including about $12,000 of which they earmarked as gifts to Strader, but to no avail! Hence Without Walls International Church (WWIC), a 14,000-strong, nondenominational urban congregation, concluded a 10-month arrangement May 31 with Carpenter’s Home Church (CHC), ending its Saturday night worship services and closing off negotiations to buy the 10,000-seat sanctuary, “The Lakeland Ledger” reported.
Located in suburban Lakeland, about 45 minutes east of Tampa, CHC is affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Failure to agree on a price nixed the sale. WWIC associate pastor Jennifer Mallan said the figures were confidential, but the two sides were “a couple of million dollars” apart, the newspaper reported.
“Everyone involved really tried to make it work,” she said. “We don’t fault anyone … They had a price and they weren’t going to lower it. We respect that … but we are very disappointed. We felt it was a God thing.”
The name Strader carries weight in charismatic circles. Strader, 72, has been pastor of Carpenters Home for 35 years and has ministered at various churches nationwide. A Pentecostal church under the Assemblies of God denomination, Carpenters Home has owned radio stations, hosted concerts and conferences featuring big names in Christianity, such as evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne, gospel singer CeCe Winans and Christian music artists Jars of Clay and Michael W. Smith reported the St. Petersburg Times.
But the past 15 years have also carried controversy. Some Assemblies of God leaders, including televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, have publicly questioned Strader’s theological teachings, according to the Lakeland Ledger.
“We’ve been to hell and back,” Strader said during a recent church service. About 800 of Strader’s members left to form their own church in 1989, after a dispute over his leadership.
Then in 1994, Strader’s son, Daniel, was arrested on fraud charges. He was convicted the next year and is serving a 45-year sentence in federal prison. A small number of fraud victims were members of the church, causing further tension. Strader said he believed his son was innocent and was treated unfairly by the system. But his son’s appeals have been denied. Strader asked members of Without Walls to pray for his son’s release, saying seven years behind bars was enough for a “white collar crime.”
At one time membership rolls swelled to about 5,000. Strader and a jubilant congregation had the 10,000-seat auditorium built, believing that in time it would be filled to capacity. Instead, attendance dwindled. (Published the St. Petersburg Times August 12, 2002)
Carpenter’s Home Finances
In our local news recently is a report that the Carpenter’s Home Church, under the leadership of Karl Strader, will be sold.
I wish The Ledger would investigate and publish the finances of this deal. The Carpenter’s Home Church started out as an Assembly of God church before Karl Strader took control.
I have relatives who were members of that church since the 1940s, and they helped pay for it.
I have visited often in the past and heard many of Rev. Strader’s sermons. I was puzzled why he often said in his sermons that anyone who disagreed with him should not make a fuss, just walk out the back door and leave.
His congregation has now dwindled down and he is left with a multimillion dollar facility.
My relatives left after Rev. Strader became a more-autocratic minister, there were questions about his family being given jobs at the church and his son was convicted of defrauding church members (mostly elderly ones) out of their life savings.
It seems to me part of the problem is that the Assembly of God denomination allows ministers to preside over board meetings instead of a church member, as in other more democratically operated Protestant churches.
Nonetheless, it was good Assembly of God people who paid for that Carpenter’s Home Church property, and any benefits from the sale should go to the Assembly of God denomination.
The question before the public is, will it?
TRAVIS EPSHIRE
Roy Aldrich, an innocent retired school teacher, who was robbed of a 100,000 by Dan and Karl Strader, knew that Karl Strader was an enemy of good men. In January, 1995 in regard to Pastor Karl Strader Sunday sermon on Enemies‘, Roy Aldrich made the following remarks:
I would like to join the ranks of those who Karl Straders counts as his “enemies.” by the following statements:
1) I am the enemy of lying and deception which hurts and robs people.
2) I am the enemy of those who practice cruelty in the administration of any corporation, especially churches.
3) I am the enemy of any minister who allows the use of his pulpit for personal vendettas.
4) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his pulpit for soliciting public and personal sympathy over controversial matters involving his family.
5) I am the enemy of every minister in the world whose sense of right and wrong is based on nepotism and favoritism.
6) I am the enemy of the policy of Karl Strader who raised $52,000.00 for Dan’s defense fund and $58,000.00 for repairing a roof and not one dime for his son’s elderly and devastated victims.
7) I am the enemy of the disrespect represented in the Strader attitude towards the State Attorney and Judge Robert Doyel, a true servant of God.
8) I am the enemy of the policies of secret salaries which conceal huge benefits flowing from trusting church members to their leaders- salaries which provide sumptuous life styles, while at the same time, these same leaders are firing and traumatizing the “little people” under their care like Cindy Deaton, Patricia Aldrich, Jack and Betty Collins.
9) I am the enemy of huge personal gain to Karl Strader and Joe Perez derived from their secret management fees from the CHC Life Center Retirement Estates.
10) I am the enemy of the thinking that some claimed “anointing” or supposed special privilege with God gives anyone the right to turn a Christian church into their own personal “cash-cow.”
11) I am the enemy of the thinking expressed in the attached sermon outline which implies that the welfare of CHC is determined by any one man or family. We are supposed to worship Christ, and not the Straders.
12) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his oratorical ability to rally church audiences into cheerleading and other emotional excess as a device to shore up a crumbling personal empire.
13) I am an enemy of any organization that suggests opposing the leader’s lifestyle and words is opposing God.
Senior Pastor Karl Strader of Carpenter’s Home Church
For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. (Titus 1:7-11)
The word ‘Pastor’ is a King James invention. The New Testament doesn’t talk about Pastors as we know them today. However, the Word of God speaks of bishops and that a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not greedy for money, but a lover of what is good, and that includes justice, virtue and truth. I believe that this also applies to Pastor Karl Strader.
Stephen Strader asked me once, “What Bible was I reading,” because he didn’t understand what I was saying. Maybe I should ask the same question of the Straders, “What Bible were they reading,” while all those evil and funny things were going on in CHC.
The following letter was written by my wife, Sandy concerning the Bishop of CHC, Senior Pastor Karl:
After reviewing some of the damaging evidence against Daniel Strader in the articles that were printed in The Ledger (Lakeland) and the Tampa Bay Tribune, and having attended Karl Strader’s church services for quite awhile, I have come to some interesting conclusions, to clarify this entire affair:
1. I find that both Karl and Daniel are self-deceived, self-serving, dishonest, discompassionate and underhanded. Basically, they are “con-artists!” The outward appearance they portray is one of honesty, love, respect, and an air of success, while they are truly in the Biblical sense “Wolves” in sheep’s clothing. They, I repeat They Are Not—Sheep! Pretending, to be a sheep or a shepherd doesn’t make it true! Seriously speaking, there is nowhere in the New Testament that speaks of pastors or their importance. The only good pastor is a Spirit-filled pastor who has put his respectability aside for the greater good. I have a lot of experience with family members who say they love me, while they use many words to express how wonderful they are and act in a self-serving manner.
2. The spiritual atmosphere in the church when I began to visit in October, 1994, was cold, distant, sprinkled with a few spiritual gifts offered by others, not the Straders, and filled with gossip and a sense that under the surface was a lot of hurt in many of the people.
After several months at the church, I observed that the leadership was cold, indifferent to the sheep’s individual needs and upon meeting one or two of them, I noticed how they lacked genuine concern for others and were very self-important.
This denotes a definite lack of love and humility, which the Bible clearly states we must have both for the brethren and the heathen. Some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit were in operation, but only in prophets, and “healers” outside the “main” leadership.
The Holy Spirit was present at the front podium due to the anointing on the singers, not the pastors, as I realized later. Everything was extremely controlled. Only prophecies acceptable to the leaders where allowed to be spoken. It was obvious the Holy Spirit was not really in control of the services as it was purported He was.
I simply observed how Karl himself, never turned to people or seemed genuinely happy to see them. This was true even of his leadership and his behavior toward them. His smile appeared artificial. It seemed unusual for a man in Christian leadership for so long.
Later, I would learn my inner sense on the matter was right. It was not that he didn’t know people but that he chose to ignore them. He was more important than they. Jesus, didn’t ignore his disciples, he walked with them, talked, ate, and slept with them. He lived with and loved them on their level. He showed them his compassion and love even when he knew they could so easily betray Him.
True love is loving the unlovely. It is supernatural. Something alien to Karl Strader. He chose to ignore people. Both his leadership and his congregation of long standing, followed his poor example of love and caring of the sheep.
No one invited us to join them or showed interest in our family. If we didn’t “join” the programs we were ignored. All contact with the church and its members were superficial and brief. A hand-shake when you entered the church, an occasional smile, and a lot of criticism behind your back.
Also, his sermons were devoid of the Holy Spirit. Oh, yes they were interesting at times. He tells his stories well. But, something deeper and more important was very much missing. He used the Word of God without seeming to understand the deeper truths behind the words. He spoke too much of us changing our character and behavior, very little of how the Holy Spirit can do it far better if we simple invite Him to.
Something I’ve come to realize he doesn’t understand. He became repetitive and dull. Not really showing much depth. (By depth I mean, having such a relationship with the Holy Spirit that you get fresh manna from heaven for each new sermon and the prophecy and direction all fit together in the service to further the Kingdom of heaven and benefit the people. Heaven is moving and flowing freely in the service and everyone knows it. In order to accomplish this the pastor must be very close to the Lord.)
The whole point of the exercise of coming to Florida, for my family and I was to find a church full of the Holy Spirit, where we could give and take in true Christian love and giving, and minister as God called us. We were duped into believing this was Carpenter’s Home Church because of the satellite broadcasting coming to our home in Canada.
It was an illusion and a lie. Carpenter’s Home Church would not turn out to be what it pretended to be: a Spirit-filled church, full of Christian love and fellowship and flowing in the miraculous presence of the Holy Spirit with signs following. I would be deeply disappointed.
Later, I would realize, this attitude of lack of caring was an outward expression of a deeply embedded inward problem. Problems of true honesty before God and man, self-deception that Karl Strader and his family felt they were: right, acceptable in behavior, true to the Word of God, selfless, loving and truly honest in their dealings with others.
I hate to say, the entire family, is delusional, self-deceived and totally dishonest and disrespectful to others. The heart is desperately wicked, who can know it, the Bible tells us.
5. The facts of Karl and his family’s behavior speak for themselves.
a. Karl doesn’t genuinely love people. He doesn’t love justice in God’s terms. When one of my family members were wrong, I told them so. I didn’t cover it up, pretended they were spiritual or protect them. Wrong is wrong! He chooses to ignore wrong and sugar coat his children’s behavior. The children of Eli in the Old Testament didn’t get away with this why should his?! For that matter neither did Eli!
b. They believe they have a special dispensation from God and are above other people because they are so important to Him and His service. They consider themselves indispensable to God, in itself a delusion! The Bible is clear, God is no respecter of persons.
c. They must not be judged by man because they are about God’s business and are above the men around them. They should be treated with great deference and respect no matter what they do. It can’t be wrong they did it sincerely. Sincerely robbing people and calling wrong—acceptable, is in itself deeply wrong—wrong before God and wrong before man!
6. Due to their attitude of self-righteousness, a need for respectability at all costs, and love of power and money, the following atrocities toward mankind was committed by them:
Karl didn’t heed the warning of the people demanding true Christian behavior from the Straders and accountability to the church body, in a meeting held to clear the air between the congregation of true believers and the Strader clan.
Karl wrote up a dictatorial policy demanding people behave as he wanted them to or leave the church “quietly” in his own words. As he was the Christ and had all the answers. Sound’s delusional? It is! In my entire life I have never seen such an un-democratic, un-spiritual, un-loving, un-professional and un-Christian document.
I personally read the sixty-six resolutions the congregation were bringing forward to Karl, demanding he and his family change their behavior and attitude to the congregation and certain prophetic and other practices. He chose to ignore them and cut them out of the body. He chose to place himself above the sheep.
Does this sound like a loving shepherd or a cold hearted wolf. Why is it he alone has power over the governing of the church, its policies, attitudes to sheep and control of the finances. Is it perhaps because of his “love of money?”
This entire attitude on the part of the father, opened the way for the delusions and practices of Dan to begin his “business practices” of taking money from one person to pay off his personal debts or investors. Where he promised them their money would go, was not what truly happened to the funds.
Even in simple insurance transactions he stole money entrusted to him, to pay people’s insurance premiums, by endorsing the checks and keeping the money for personal use. Insurance companies began to complain they were not receiving their clients premiums and it came back to Daniel.
He was entrusted with a sacred trust—to deal honestly—there is no “mistakes” when one is honest! If one willfully robs one person to give to another, this is thievery, no question about it! It is blatant robbery. He also had his father’s arrogance and pride that he is right and above the law of God and man.
Upon digging a little deeper, you begin to realize that Karl has been practicing the very thing his son was doing with his insurance clients and investors. Karl has been taking people’s tithes, given to the Lord’s service, and properly designated to certain ministries and specific purposes, and placed them where he wanted them, not where they were designated to go.
In so doing, he aroused God’s attention and anger when he began to manipulate and remove intended funds from intended service to the Lord, to cover the church’s indebtedness. This obviously doesn’t honor the Lord but only becomes “lip service,” something Karl became adept at. A pathetically poor example to his children of “mismanagement of money” and double talk, saying one thing to the congregation and doing something totally different.
Sad to me is the documented facts that came out in Daniel’s trial that he had robbed not only the investors and insurance clients, he had robbed his children and wife of peace of mind and a sense of security, because their electricity was shown to have been cut off at least fifteen times in the previous year by the electric company due to lack of payment. This is only a small sample of what went on in his practices in paying personal bills and obligations. Not very responsible or loving—even to his own family, is it?
The bottom line is, men who cannot handle their own behavior or families correctly, with good Christian order and with common respect and decency, should not be leaders of anything—let alone a large Christian church or a business!
This principle applies to all Christian leaders! We are all accountable: first to God, second to our spouses and children, and third to fellow believers and other people. We must all pay the piper! Sorry, no exceptions!
We have a firm responsibility to teach accountability to our children, both to God and man! It is irresponsible to allow a child to believe there are no consequences for our actions and all will be forgiven and covered by “God’s love.” This is only true, the Bible says, if we meet God’s conditions of holding to his truths, unwaveringly and with deep fear of what He could do if He so chose!
God is still ultimately Sovereign! He chose to allow Job to suffer though he had done nothing to deserve it! God is God! I know he is not blind to all man does. He does Judge. Jesus’ sacrifice brought judgment.
As He said to me on the subject of love, it not only means being gentle and kind, it brings accountability and judgment. If we’re not sure we’ve crossed over the line into judgment and wrong doing we need to humble ourselves before God and find out.
When Karl and Daniel were told by God they were wrong they didn’t obey His voice. Is it because they never learned to truly “listen to His still small voice and obey Him? They also thought the vessels of his warnings were unimportant and of no consequence—Christian people—not of high positions or great wealth. Simple people, whom they had learned not to respect.
They could not recognize when a man of God had been sent to them, to redirect them and give deeply important warnings. They had not true spiritual discernment. They couldn’t hear, they couldn’t see. Is this not also Biblical? God stopped men’s ears and blinded men’s eyes?
The evidence speaks for itself. A broken church, many hurt and damaged Christian lives, the theft of thousands of dollars not belonging to the Straders, be it in tithes or investments, the Gospel of Christ trampled and disgraced, control and manipulation of lives in the Name of God and without compassion. One son in prison, another sent out of the country to minister elsewhere because he is a liability due to his attitudes and behavior, and a daughter who begs other pastors to help displace her father to place her husband in her father’s pastoral position. How Christian! How loving! What a wonderful example of right Christian living! How happy I am not to follow or be fooled anymore by such a wicked example!
DAN STRADER IS NOT INNOCENT http://www.scribd.com/doc/33762241
KARL STRADER’S MASSIVE CARPENTER’S HOME CHURCH IS AN ALBATROSS AND PASTOR KARL STRADER IS HISTORY http://www.scribd.com/doc/56459981/
THE STRADERS http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-c0
Foreclosure Fight Pits Pastor With His Ex-Wife http://www.theledger.com/article/20130531/NEWS/130539912
RANDY AND PAULA WHITE PARASITES PROSTITUTES PIMPS http://www.scribd.com/doc/35148151
WATCH THE VIDEO Without Walls Lakeland Abandonedby Paula White http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuX0gJ8dOu0&feature=channel&list=UL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3T0bCh9ZQM&feature=channel&list=UL
Manasseh Jordan – Never Been Wrong Yet? How About Prophesies network TV for Paula White and Lakeland property is good soil? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X81rDQCpTKU
RODNEY HOWARD BROWNE THE FLEECERhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/36546812
Laughing Clark WENT DOWN IN FLAMES http://www.scribd.com/doc/35148050/
MEN OF INTEGRITY http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-12p
Pastor Ron Carpenter IS OFF THE WALL http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Xa
JOEL OSTEEN REBUKES http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Ob
JOSEPH PRINCE http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Wa
Beth Moore – False Teacher http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Wj
LYING SIGNS AND WONDERS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Wp
EXPOSING THE COUNTERFEIT http://deceptionfree.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/exposing-the-counterfeit-in-the-emergent-church/
APOSTATE RICK-WARREN http://www.scribd.com/doc/136880990/
Rick Warren’s Son Had Ricks Warren’s Demons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2kCWywY5QU
Rick Warren’s Son Commits Suicide http://wp.me/s2M7AJ-rwsuicid
Victory Ministries 