What do Ted Haggard, Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, Jimmy Swaggert, Paula White, Carlton Pearson and Juanita Bynum have in common? The answers vary depending on whom you ask.
The Mississippi Link received answers to that question which ranged from evangelical preachers to scandal plagued ministers.
All of the names referenced above could be considered mega church pastors once upon a time (some still are).
Another commonality is that they all live outside the state of Mississippi. That is until you add Kevin Wright to the mix.
Wright, who according to his online bio, was confirmed in 1995 by the Lord that he was to pastor a church in Jackson, Miss. He had been senior pastor at the 4500-member (according to bio) Word of Faith (WOF) Jackson congregation since August 1995.
Wright’s last day at (WOF) Jackson was Jan. 24, 2010 when he and his wife Leslie announced to the congregation that they were taking a sabbatical to attend conferences and vacation together.
This was the beginning of the end.
Two weeks after Wright’s announcement about his vacation plans, Bishop Keith Butler, founder and pastor of Word of Faith International, made another announcement.
Butler shared with the members of WOF Jackson that Wright had to deal with some “moral issues” and that he would be on an extended leave. That announcement came during regular Sunday morning services Feb. 7. At the time, members of WOF Jackson were under the impression that Wright would return.
Those dreams and hopes of Wright’s return came to an unexpected halt when it was announced during a Wednesday evening service in April that Wright would no longer serve in the capacity as pastor at WOF Jackson.
The first moral issue that The Mississippi Link uncovered was the alleged mis-appropriation of money.
The Mississippi Link went on a fact-finding mission after the office received queries about the abrupt departure of Wright.
One former WOF Jackson employee, who did not want to be indentified because of legal issues surrounding the situation, said that she was devastated over the recent developments.
“I poured my heart and soul into my work and my church, she said. “I gave more than 100 percent and now I have nothing.”
Her account details what she faced during the last several months of employment at WOF Jackson.
In Butler’s April announcement, he explained that in addition to Wright’s moral issues, mismanagement of funds, trustees not doing their jobs and bad staffing also hindered his return.
Sources on the inside vehemently disagreed with the bad staffing issue.
“Not one time in Butler’s announcement did he hold Wright accountable, he (Butler) placed blame and accountability on everyone else,” the former employee said. “I take great issue with that.”
The employee said when Wright left the church, it owed more than $260,000 in unpaid bills and over $500,000 in debt.
When the WOF Christian Academy was forced to close, the employee said that approximately 25 people lost their jobs. “We knew something was going on when we began to notice that checks were bouncing and credit cards were being denied,” she said. “A red flag went up, but not in our wildest dreams did we see this coming.”
The former employee is facing litigation with WOF over several issues, including being forced in 2007 to take out short-term disability insurance. “All of this money was being taken out of our checks, yet the church stopped paying premiums to the insurance company in 2009,” she said. “Where is the money?”
This former employee shared documents with The Mississippi Link that showed WOF Jackson was making child support payments for Wright’s son.
In other financial matters, sources on the inside suggested that Wright and his family lived like kings and queens at the church’s expense. “While I don’t have a copy of the church’s American Express bill, I will tell you it is well documented that the Wrights took lavish trips including deep sea fishing, trips to NYC and LA that included a $30,000 shopping spree on Rodeo Drive,” a source said.
Another issue was the MBA Center, which was paid for by the
WOF Foundation but placed in Wright’s name. According to sources, Butler ordered it closed. The price tag for the MBA Center was estimated at $2 million.
Calls made to Bishop Keith Butler and Kevin Wright were not returned.
The Mississippi Link was escorted off the property of WOF Jackson during a recent appearance by Butler, who was in town to celebrate the church’s anniversary.
Next week in our series ‘A Church Revealed,’ we uncover alleged sexual misconduct involving Wright.
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