Yearly compensation for TBN's Paul & Jan Crouch: $764,700. + perks [View All]

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

TBN's Promise: Send Money and See Riches
Disapproved concerning the faith!

Los Angeles Times/September 19, 2004
By William Lobdell Times

http://www.rickross.com/reference/tbn/tbn13.html

Pastor Paul Crouch calls it "God's economy of giving," and here is how it works: People who donate to Crouch's Trinity Broadcasting Network will reap financial blessings from a grateful God. The more they give TBN, the more he will give them. Being broke or in debt is no excuse not to write a check. In fact, it's an ideal opportunity. For God is especially generous to those who give when they can least afford it. "He'll give you thousands, hundreds of thousands," Crouch told his viewers during a telethon last November. "He'll give millions and billions of dollars."

TBN collects more than $120 million a year from viewers of its Christian programming - more than any other TV ministry. Those donations have fueled its rise from a rented studio in Santa Ana to a global broadcasting system whose programs appear on thousands of channels - via satellite, cable and over-the-air broadcasts - in a dozen languages. The network's donors also help fund generous salaries for Crouch ($403,700 a year) and his wife, Jan ($361,000), and an array of perks, including a TBN-owned jet and 30 homes across the country, among them a pair of Newport Beach mansions and a ranch in Texas.

During one telethon, Crouch, 70, told viewers that if they did their part to advance the Kingdom of God - such as by donating money to TBN - they should not be shy about asking God for a reward. "If my heart really, honestly desires a nice Cadillac, would there be something terribly wrong with me saying, 'Lord, it is the desire of my heart to have a nice car & and I'll use it for your glory?'" Crouch asked. "I think I could do that and in time, as I walked in obedience with God, I believe I'd have it."

Other preachers who appear on the network offer variations on the theme that God appreciates wealth and likes to share it. One of them, John Avanzini, once told viewers that Jesus, despite his humble image, was a man of means. "John 19 tells us that Jesus wore designer clothes," Avanzini said, referring to the purple robe that Christ's tormentors wrapped around him before the Crucifixion. "I mean, you didn't get the stuff he wore off the rack. No, this was custom stuff. It was the kind of garment that kings and rich merchants wore."