• Cultivating Character and Competence // Changing Communities and Culture

    IMG_0857
    Welcome to the professional website and personal weblog of Jeremy Del Rio. Whether you're a client, friend, or curious onlooker, please don't stay a spectator. Engage the conversation. Your contributions matter here.
  • Donate Online


  • Connect Online

    Twitter YouTube Digg Facebook Flickr LinkedIn Skype Technorati Myspace
  • Twitter Updates

  • Subscribe

    Subscribe

    Share/Save/Bookmark

    Enter your Email


    Powered by FeedBlitz
  • Posts by Date

    March 2007
    S M T W T F S
    « Feb   Apr »
     123
    45678910
    11121314151617
    18192021222324
    25262728293031
  • Books featuring Jeremy


    (Two chapters)
    (Commentary throughout)
    (Study questions throughout)
  • Resources









    2020 facebook group





















    TOP LATINO BLOGS





    Get Firefox!




  • « | Home | »

    Enough!

    By Jeremy | March 25, 2007

    On Friday night, 20/20 spotlighted religious money changers in a segment called "Enough!" and profiled a financial accountability group called Ministry Watch that helps expose Christian ministries who refuse to be transparent in how they use donations. John Stossel generally does a good job with these kinds of common sensical approaches to scandal. It was, fankly, nice to see, especially after receiving a forwarded email from "Elijah List" earlier in the day which boasted in the email subject line:
    Kim Clement: "GOD SAYS, 'ALZHEIMER'S IS BEING DESTROYED AND THE CURE FOR AIDS HAS BEEN DISCOVERED AND IS ABOUT TO BE RELEASED'"
    The body of the email continued:
    Prophesied March 9, 2007--Anaheim, California I Will Do Things Men Never Dreamed Would Happen.... The Spirit of God says, "They would say this shall not be done, for this generation has turned away from God. Do not say it cannot be done. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Tonight, I will take great pleasure in proving Myself. Show Me a problem, and I will solve it. Bring Me a wall, and I will break it down. Build a tower, and I will confound your language. Nothing will stop Me from penetrating into the darkest, darkest regions and hearing the sound of My righteous people." Featured Product "See Further, Live Longer" by Kim Clement $30.00 Teaching CDs
    My stomach crawled as I saw this exploitative pitch to sell product masked in "Thus saith the Lord" promises to the most emotionally vulnerable among us, Alzheimer's and AIDS patients and their families. Sadly, coming from Kim Clement, this is not unusual. Clement famously "prophecied" on January 13, 2004, that Osama Bin Laden would be "abolished, wiped out" within 35 days making Easter 2004 "one of the greatest Easters this nation has ever celebrated." Clement's ministry rates an F on the Ministry Watch website. 20/20 said it right: "Enough!"

    RELATED

    This is old news, but I just heard it this weekend. Grammy-award winning Gospel musician Phil Driscoll was convicted of tax evasion last June. He reported to prison last week to begin serving his 1-year sentence. This was painful news to read. In the 80s, Phil Driscoll's music was a staple in my home, and Abounding Grace blasted his classic renditions of "I Exalt Thee" and "They that Wait upon the Lord" throughout the streets of New York City.lakers harrington alacc convertor to ringtonest il washington barrington 212nokia 3588i ringtonefree afi code ringtonemosquito 7100g ringtonesacs alaska ringtonsringtone 3560 nokia usa free Map

    Topics: faith, media | 6 Comments »

    6 Responses to “Enough!”

    1. Paul Fernandez Says:
      March 25th, 2007 at 10:21 pm

      Hello, I’ve heard many good things about you, so I checked out abundant grace website. I was very impressed as your church has a very comprehensive view of the gospel. It led me to think that maybe, just maybe there is a pentacostal church with some integrity and doesn’t treat its people as though they are it’s servants and don’t have a right to ask questions. So I guess it’s a given that you guys co-labour with your people and offer finacial tranceparency right?

    2. anon Says:
      March 25th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

      looked at ministry watch dot org website and found revival-apostle ministries like vineyard, rodney howard brown, benny hinn, march for jesus and td jakes all have such abismally low failing F grades — such an awful example for those who claim to chanel the voice of god — was surprized to see pat robertson groups consistintly in top 10 integrity excelence — good for them. we need a rating grades like this for churches…maybe something you could do as a service to your readers…profits not honored except in their own house……..

    3. Rolie Says:
      March 26th, 2007 at 11:21 am

      I remeber this guy… He was great. I remeber listening to his music in church and swaying to “I exalt Thee” and you would think that because he is a Christian God may allow him to escape prision because of all the work and ministry and people he has helped as an even swap. Why it didn’t happen? I don’t know except that God allows it to rain on the righteous and unrighteous… Be safe and secure my brother. By the way most of our famous leaders, christian and non christian have been inspired in prison… not that I would want that inspiration from there but it has happened.

    4. K Bobe Says:
      March 29th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

      Alzheimer’s vaccine works on mice: Japan scientist

      March 28, 2007 11:49:28 PM PST

      Japanese scientists have developed an oral vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease that has proven effective and safe in mice, the director of a research institute behind the project said on Thursday.

      The team is preparing to move to small-scale clinical trials in humans, possibly this year, said Takeshi Tabira, director of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences in Aichi, central Japan.

      "We hope the Phase I trials go well," Tabira said. "Animals are able to recover their functions after developing symptoms, but humans are less able to do so. It may be that this only works in the early stages of the disease, when symptoms are light."

      When administered to mice suffering from the disease, which causes dementia and is currently incurable, the vaccine reduced the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain and improved mental function.

      Amyloid plaques are believed to be at the root of Alzheimer’s — a growing problem for aging populations around the world. The disease affects five million in the United States alone, the Alzheimer’s Association said in a report last week.

      The treatment did not cause inflammation or bleeding in the brains of the mice, Tabira said.

      The vaccine is made by inserting amyloid-producing genes into a non-harmful virus. When taken orally, the virus stimulates the immune system to attack and break down the amyloid proteins in the brain, Tabira said.

      The treatment was tested on 28 mice genetically modified to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Half the animals were given a dose of the vaccine at the age of 10 months, while the control group were not treated.

      Three months later, tests showed mental function in the treated mice had returned to levels close to those before they developed Alzheimer’s symptoms.

      U.S. drugmaker Wyeth and its Irish partner Elan Corp have an Alzheimer’s vaccine called ACC-001 in early stage human trials.

      The Japanese research, carried out in conjunction with scientists at Nagoya University and others, is to be published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in July.

    5. genxcel Says:
      March 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

      The Japanese research is great news! Time will tell if it pans out.

      In the meantime, my gripe with Kim Clement is that he sells his “prophecy” CD for $30 bucks — and his sales pitch plays on vulnerable emotions. Why do we package the Gospel that way?

    6. CreativeSower Says:
      January 28th, 2008 at 3:53 pm

      I just went through Clement’s website and can’t find any place where you pay for prophecies. They are transcribed and listed free of charge for anyone that wants to read them. Some can be heard or watched as well- free of charge. If your gripe is with buying a teaching CD with prophecies on it, who do you think should pay for the manufacturing? I think they are freely giving much through their website.