Further to my earlier post on Amway and the Contemporary Church.

Riverview Church’s new acquisition “Destiny People” (now Riverview OC) has a founding a lead Pastor known as Wes Beavis.

I would like to know what theological qualification Mr. Beavis has – (we recently expressed some surprise at the theological contradictions made on his web site).

Anyway, theological precision aside, I recently received an email that commented:   

“ we knew Wes & Eleanore years & years ago just before he left for the US to do the Amway circuit - so yes, any prosperity books are his …” 

 So in response, I thought I would do my own research and see if there was any truth to the Amway link, and inspired by ‘Saint’, I got down on my knees and consulted ‘Google god”…
 

And as fast as a bolt of lightning can hit the head, the response from Google god was short, sharp and direct:

Google god revealed to me that Wes Beavis writes books like “Escape to Prosperity” which, if you are young and ambitious – you will find in your Amway Start-up kit …
And not only will you get Wes’ book in the kit, it is accompanied by wisdom books by like-minded authors including:
 

“About Biblical Economics” -  By (“Jesus was a Rich Man”) John Avanzini
“Opportunity Knocks” – By CCC Pastor Pat Mesiti
 

What is also interesting is that Wes also gets a mention in this affidavit on an investigation into the operation of how the speaking circuit works at Amway conferences in Texas (USA):

In this particular inquiry, the response to a question about what he does for a living,  Defendant  Ted Fish states: 

“I’m in the Amway business, Quixtar business, I’m a minister. I do all of those things…”

During, Mr Fish’s questioning he then goes on to talk about the worship services held at Amway conferences which describes Mr Beavis as being an ‘entertainer’:

       Q “did you have a worship service?2 A. Yes, we did.

Q. And did you lead it? A. Yes, I led it.

Q. And was there a collection? A. Yes, there was.

Q. And did the money for the collection, was any portion of it used to offset the expenses of the weekend? A. I’m trying to remember what we did with that offering.  Yes. Yes, it was as a matter of  fact.  By “offset” that went to the speaker, if that’s what you’re talking about.

Q. The speaker for the worship service? A. Yes.

Q. Did you have a special speaker for the worship service? A. No. One of our people we had there.

Q. He was not a minister? He wasn’t speaking about spiritual things? A. Yes. He’s an evangelist. .

Q.Oh, okay. A. Wes Beavis.

Q. Oh. He’s the entertainer that you described  A. Speaker, entertainer, author. He’s all of those things together.
Q. How much did you pay him? A. The best of my recollection, that offering was somewhere around $1600, if I’m not mistaken.

Q. Did you give him any money on top of that A. Yes.

Q. How much money? A. I think his fee — I’m just going by memory now — I think his fee was 2500”

It all makes intriguing reading and gives great insight into the relationship between Amway Executives and Church men and also the mechanics behinds the Amway / Contemporary Church Business models. Like for a select few on the Amway speaking circuit, for which “The world’s best business opportunity” does really work, I am sure that the Prosperity Theology works for those on the Contemporary Church’s ”Purple Circle” - even supplying for the needs of servants who “keep up the good times for Jesus“! (Wow! Remind me - Do you have to tithe on your increase if you’re a lucky Pastor that is given a car!). 

(And no I am not bitter - I just see the humour in a secretive Church Business model that enriches its Pastors through ‘dodgy theology’ and just hope to high heaven that such expensive gifts to Pastors do not come out of a (Pat Mesiti / CCC associated) “Robb Thompson styled Ministry account“. But it is really, really difficult to tell when Churches refuse to release financials to “Partners” upon request…). 

The links between Amway and the Contemporary Church, especially CCC’s own Pat Mesiti and the sprawling Riverview Campus in OC are more than a little difficult  to deny!

And if a Pastor of a 150 person Church that meets in a theatre can command $USD4,000 to speak at a worship service during a weekend Amway convention - how much exactly is paid to a MegaChurch Pastor on the “Lucrative Pentecostal Speaking Circuit“? An “unjustifiable” amount of money perhaps…?

Lionfish will hereby rests his case; and conclude as did St Jerome (a.d. 345-420) of the early Middle Ages who wrote,

“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who is also a man of business.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 8:23 am by Lionfish and is filed under the money jar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.