Famous Like Me > Director > P > Rod Parsley
Profile of Rod Parsley
on Famous Like Me |
|
Name: |
Rod Parsley |
|
|
|
Also Know As: |
|
|
|
Date of Birth: |
13th January 1957 |
|
|
Place of Birth: |
Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
|
|
Profession: |
Director |
|
|
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Rodney L. Parsley (1957- ) is an American televangelist, and the senior minister of World Harvest Church, a pentecostal megachurch in Columbus, Ohio and the Founder of The Center for Moral Clarity. His Breakthrough telecast can be frequently seen on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Parsley, a social conservative, is a frequent critic of liberal positions on social issues and has appeared at public events with Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell.
He is married to Joni Parsley and they have one son and one daughter.
World Harvest Church
In 1977, Parsley's seventeen person bible study formed the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio which now encompasses 400,000 square feet (37,000 m²) and has a 400 person staff.
The church's first facility was built in 1979. That building is now known as Alpha Hall and is one of four buildings on what is now the campus of World Harvest Bible College. In 1986, ground was broken on 57 acres to build what now includes a 5,200-seat sanctuary, Children’s and Youth Ministries, Family Life, Ministry Resource Centers, a Bookstore and Administrative Offices. The church's main property now comprises 132 acres.
Future plans for the church include the Breakthrough Command Center, international headquarters of Breakthrough, the television, radio and direct mail outreach of Bridge of Hope. This state-of-the-art facility will include a 24-hour Phone Center and Broadcast Center.
Harvest Preparatory Schools operates on the church grounds. Pastor Parsley has just launched Harvest Prep Virtual Academy, a college-preparatory online school available for students nationwide.
World harvest church rakes in over $38 million annually
Breakthrough Ministries
Breakthrough is the television broadcast produced by the World Harvest Church. The show features sermons and bible studies by Parsley as well as segments concerning the Center for Moral Clarity.
Breakthrough is carried on 1,400 stations and cable affiliates, including Daystar Television Network, INSP, Cornerstone Television, World Harvest Television, The Church Channel, Trinity Broadcasting Network, ENLACE (which broadcasts in Spanish to 20 nations), and Europe 7.
Political activism
During the Summer of 2004, Parsley openly criticized Sweden for the arrest and subsequent conviction of Ake Green under Sweden's hate crimes legislation. During the same time, he founded The Center for Moral Clarity to address social issues and influence politics from what he considers to be a Christian point-of-view, but is most accurately described as a traditional conservative persepective. On October 3, 2004, Parsley preached a sermon titled "Uncensored: While Freedom Still Rings", which was in many ways the mission statement for the Center for Moral Clarity. In the two part sermon, Parsley expressed his distaste for the following: Separation of Church and State, Same Sex Marriage, Partial Birth Abortion, Hate Crimes Legislation in California, Canada, and Sweden, Sexual orientation themes in childrens books, Racism, and Poverty.
A few weeks before the 2004 election, Parsley encouraged his congregation and those who watch his television program to vote for Ohio's state constitutional amendment to limit marriage to one man and one woman. He also encouraged the other states who had similar marriage amendments on their ballots to vote in favor of it. He was also apart of the "Slient No More Tour" to register "Christian voters," which he defined as persons who would vote the traditional conservative position on issues important to the Center for Moral Clarity.
Parsley and the World Harvest Church supported John Roberts' nomination for the Supreme Court of the United States.
Parsley's extreme conservative standpoints and preachings calling for an end to the religion of Islam have labled him a bigot and racist.
Writings
Parsley is an author of several Christianity-themed books, including "Silent No More," his latest, which was released in April 2005 by Charisma House. The book encourages conservative Christians to participate in the political process, and especially to make sure their votes support conservative positions on social issues.
Criticism of Parsley
According to his critics, Parsley encourages a variation on the Biblical concept called tithing. Though tithing is taught by many pastors, the view held by Parsley (and common among televangelists) is that if one tithes, in exchange God will provide virtually unlimited blessings (usually emphasized as being monetary in nature), a variation of word of faith theology. Critics state that this is simply a means for Parsley to benefit at the expense of his donors, and cite Ohio state records that suggest his personal fortune sharply contrasts that of many of his viewers, including an $1 million estate and a private jet.
Parsley has also been criticised for his recent book, Silent No More because of the book's attack on Islam and the Separation of Church and State (among other things), and for his support of faith healing. Parsley has identified Islam as an enemy the United States and Christianity.
External Links
- Myfortress.org Info on Rod Parsley
This content from
Wikipedia is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Rod Parsley
|