re: healing place/the church st amant scandal

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Legally and on paper, yes.

But in practice, not really. It’s the same crew. The Church was one of the first franchise churches of Healing Place. They pulled in enough money to pay off their contract and buy their own franchise rights so they legally split.

And I’m not joking about franchise rights and such. That’s how they operate monetarily, much like a McDonalds.

It used to be around a 50,000 dollar buy in to start a church under them. But the location, possible number of members had to be vetted first (like a McDonald’s location). If approved, you were set up with a small worship crew, equipment, and sermons for the new owner, aka Pastor of the new church, to preach. Everything done in the satellite church needed approval on some level and you were contracted to pay back the money + the owning church took a percentage off tithes off the top every week (like a pyramid).

Eventually, if you made enough money, you could “break away” for a price and franchise your brand out. That’s what St. Amant did.

I saw this first hand when a friend of mine was caught up in the process of starting a new church with them.

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all 100% accurate

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Yes. I do. I’ll take the time later for more details, but I preached over there twice in the 90’s before the scandal. I spent time with the pastor and his family. The truth is a bit less scandalous than the allegations (shockingly- especially since he’s in prison for life). More later.

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I don't pretend to know everything but I do know a lot. I am not a member but I go there for convenience 2-3 times a month. One of my sons is very active there. His wife works at their school. I've known Mark for 15 years and his wife since she was in high school. I donate to the church because they have one of the largest out reach programs I have ever heard of.

To the original O.P. Levi (Mark's son) and his family are working elsewhere. Just like Pastor Deano he went through some sort of program that the home organization has just for such cases.

I don't fully understand the organization but before I ever attended there I determined that the label "non-denominational" does not apply. They simply don't have a name or claim any connection to another church. I stand by that.

I can tell you this. No pastor is living a lavish lifestyle. Also one of the other Tigerturds members said Mark sounded like a car salesman. I would say that is because he is pretty much down to earth veteran Marine cowboy that is well versed in the bible. He isn't like any other pastor I have ever been around in my 75 years.

There is sooo much more. Too much to write but I can take questions.

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don't pretend to know everything but I do know a lot. I am not a member but I go there for convenience 2-3 times a month. One of my sons is very active there. His wife works at their

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I’m actually talking about the Hossana church scandal in Ponchatoula but Im very familiar with the Church guys too. I actually like them a lot.

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Dino is now on staff at a MEGA church in Birmingham.

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Briarworld... I mean wood

ETA:

nope, he's not at Briarwood. He's at a church in Missouri, not Birmingham.

I just want to say this. I went to Ruffinos yesterday and frick the traffic caused by Healing Place.

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Yes. I do. I’ll take the time later for more details, but I preached over there twice in the 90’s before the scandal. I spent time with the pastor and his family. The truth is a bit less scandalous than the allegations (shockingly- especially since he’s in prison for life). More later.

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That "Hosanna Church" scandal was the last gasp of the "Satanic Panic" that started in the 1980s IMO. To me, that case and the McMartin Preschool case were the bookends around that embarrassing national panic.

I guess they convinced a jury that Trey Bernard did something (and maybe Lamonica too - I can't remember). My recollection, though, was that there were all sorts of outlandish accusations made about that church, but what the evidence presented at trial was extremely scant, and difficult to separate from some contentious divorce proceedings, and that was totally at odds with the scandalous nature of the accusations.

I haven't analyzed this case as deeply as the Sandusky case, or the McMartin case, but I would just say that, though sexual abuse is all too real, it doesn't typically resemble any of those 3 cases. It's much more mundane.

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There is sooo much more. Too much to write but I can take questions.

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How much are they paying you to shill for them

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Good money to be made in the feel good church bidness.

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I always wanted to open a church and have it ding your apple pay for like $5 every time you came through the door. Thought it was a genius plan.