Brownsville "Revival" Con Artists

On the Brownsville Revival

First of all this is nuts.

"John Kilpatrick, began directing his congregation to pray for revival.[4] Over the next two years, he talked constantly about bringing revival to the church, even going as far as to threaten to leave the church if it didn't accept the revival." Wow.

The leaders in the church where the Brownsville Revival took place were investigated for 4 months by reporters. They mainly investigated how the great amounts of money they received in the Revival were being spent. Here is part of their explanation. These numbers do seem quite excessive. Anyone think these numbers are possible? I think the part about spending $19,000 on security people to watch the cars sounds totally nuts lol...

"FACT: Pastor Kilpatrick does not and has never owned a Rolex watch, contrary to the Journal’s claims. The diamond ring he wears cost $382 and was purchased for him by his wife Brenda as a gift for their 29th anniversary.
FACT: Rather than the church becoming rich through the revival or hoarding its resources and neglecting missions, as suggested by the Journal, it has expended itself sacrificially in order to host the revival and its guests – including missionaries, struggling pastors, and lost sinners – from around the world. 2 The church staff has expanded from 23 to 110; custodial supplies have gone from $600 a month to $3500 or more monthly; security, which in the past was unnecessary, now amounts to more than $19,000 monthly – all to watch over the cars and property of those attending the revival. Whereas before the revival, there was no need for paid nursery workers during the week, the nursery worker budget averages $10,000-12,000 a month – all to take care of the babies and small children of the guests of the revival. Such expenses could be multiplied almost ad infinitum (e.g., just cleaning the church carpets now amounts to $4,500 monthly), but this sampling is sufficient to indicate the enormous cost involved in hosting this revival, a huge missions project in itself."

Huh.

And the details on the pastor's new house are a bit crazy..."FACT: After living in the same house for 14 years, Pastor Kilpatrick moved to Alabama for privacy’s sake. He would have stayed in his present home if not for recurring invasions of his privacy. His new house, which should cost approximately $270,000 upon completion, is being financed on the basis of his church and outside ministry salary, and not a dime of the construction cost is being funded through the nightly revival offerings. 3 Note also that the square footage of heated and air-conditioned living space in his new home totals 3543 square feet, not the 5557 square feet reported in the Journal." Oh just 3,543, yeah that's nothing lol. No wonder he threatened to quit if the Revival didn't happen; it funded his retirement mansion home. Oh my goodness.