Spanky Sproul 4: Wicked, Wicked Deeds

[Banyan]

 

So exciting! (exclamation points further enhance the excitement!)

With Spanky's reputation having swirled down the toilet years ago, I have a hard time believing anyone (other than Lisa) will be attending.

[Columbia]

Wait, is this associated with CJ Mahaney and the unending sex abuse cover up Sovereign Grace?

[Banyan]

2 hours ago, Columbia said:

Wait, is this associated with CJ Mahaney and the unending sex abuse cover up Sovereign Grace?

Wouldn't surprise me if RC Sproul Jr had formed an alliance with CJ Mahaney. The two share much in common. RC Jr covered up for a serial pedophile who'd molested children in his St. Peter Presbyterian Church.

[hoipolloi]

Watched Spanky's announcement video, and he says it is *not* going to be a franchise part of Mahaney's SGF/SGM although he says that his future scam church has many things in common with Mahaney's racket.

The video is shot at some outdoor venue (an abandoned building or property?) that he calls San Giovanni, which Spanky indicates is going to be the future Sovereign Grace Fellowship. Among other things, he says it will be a place of healing, and have a church, a pastors' college, and a pastors' retreat for pastors dealing with disgrace & burnout in their lives. 

In the meantime, he & the Queen will continue to have their home church.

[Howl]

4 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Among other things, he says it will be a place of healing, and have a church, a pastors' college, and a pastors' retreat for pastors dealing with disgrace & burnout in their lives. 

Because of course disgraced pastors need a soft landing! 

4 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

that he calls San Giovanni

Fascinating that he hasn't christened this place with some type of Calvinist name. 

And about this Sovereign Grace thing...name recognition theft or something?  

I doubt this will come to anything. Although he's a legend in his own mind,  RC, Jr. is, IMO, self indulgent and lazy and "we're more Godly than god and everyone hates us for it" is not a winning message to bring in the bucks. 

Let's contrast RC Jr to Mark Driscoll.  Driscoll created a sprawling church empire out of Mars Hill in Seattle and then walked away from the smoking ruins.  He was a flannel shirts and jeans kinda guy, heavily into patriarchy and wifely submission and as one would guess, a complete ass. 

He headed south to upscale Scottsdale, AZ, found a venue, put a bunch of very heavy hitters on the Church board, set up a professionally designed website and and got to work starting Trinity Church.  He isn't lazy. 

Because a trip down memory lane is always worth it: Despicable Mark Driscoll

 

[hoipolloi]

7 hours ago, Howl said:

And about this Sovereign Grace thing...name recognition theft or something?  

That's my guess -- it will help with the grift & money if people have a vague notion that Spanky's "church" is connected to the original SGM/SGF group of churches.

Hard to believe that CJ Mahaney would appreciate this, however.

Your assessment of Spanky vs. Driscoll is spot on. I suspect that Spanky & the Queen think that this grandiose announcement will loosen the money spigots, and he can continue to sit in his recliner, bloviating to his "home church," while the cash starts flowing in for a fellowship that will probably never happen.

Edited January 23, 2021 by hoipolloi
Clarity

[forgetmenow]

On 1/23/2021 at 2:01 PM, hoipolloi said:

That's my guess -- it will help with the grift & money if people have a vague notion that Spanky's "church" is connected to the original SGM/SGF group of churches.

Hard to believe that CJ Mahaney would appreciate this, however.

I'm not sure they care, tbh.  Their reputation is so bad at this point that some of the churches in their denom have changed their names to avoid the association, while many have just left.  This is a longish article that provides more details.

Spanky and is brand are trash, to be sure, but how noticeable is more trash piled on top of the trash heap?

It is super weird that he chose that particular dumpster fire to associate his new brand with, but a lot of the fallen preacher guys in his position cling to cheap "grace" as a fix-all.

[hoipolloi]

32 minutes ago, forgetmenow said:

a lot of the fallen preacher guys in his position cling to cheap "grace" as a fix-all.

Yep. Grace for me but never for thee unless thou payest me lots of money and do everything I say.

[Banyan]

On 1/23/2021 at 5:54 AM, Howl said:

He isn't lazy.

Herein lies a major difference between Driscoll and RC Jr. Oh, and add Tullian to the list of pervy preachers with a work ethic. Reports on Spanky have him as a lazy work ethic-challenged preacher that had everything handed to him on a silver platter (including a six figure Ligonier salary), name recognition courtesy of his famous father. And now that dad isn't around anymore he's finding it hard to locate those coattails to ride anymore. RC Jr always had the reputation of recycling old messages and he's doing more of it now than ever. I was skimming his old blogspot account the other day and noticed he's reposting many articles from there, from years ago, onto his new web site, including a lot of the old Ask RC stuff. I'm guessing that's because nobody is actually asking him questions anymore. So he's pretend-answering questions that were asked and answered years ago.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Banyan

[Banyan]

After doing a little digging I found something quote-worthy that substantiates my recollection of RC Jr's sluggardly work ethic and riding his father's coat tails for profit.

Quote

It's been alleged by some that because there was seldom any actual "study" or "students" at The Highlands Study Center (one of the few "student" exceptions being the serial pedophile Steven Sitler) the primary purpose of HSC was a fundraising boondoggle for RC Sproul Jr. Indeed, Sproul Jr profited handsomely off donations to HSC to the tune of six-figures annually. RC Jr's financial success never correlated with his work ethic (which bears no resemblance to his father's work ethic). Rather, donations poured in largely because of his name, or rather his father's name.

As far as we know Spanky doesn't have a day job and hasn't made any efforts at getting one. Neither does Queen Lisa. How is he covering the family bills? Still getting a fat independent contractor paycheck from Ligonier?

[Sarcastically spinster]

Yeah, he totally fits all the biblical qualifications for a pastor!  Coming back to pastor a church is a great idea!  Nothing could go wrong!  Nothing!

[Banyan]

Not that I'd recommend listening but... Season 1 Episode 7 of Sacred Marriage Under Fire. This is the only episode in which they aren't bashing his kids and accusing his late wife of "marital unfaithfulness." Just a lot of nauseating Mutual Admiration Society stuff and self-agrandizing Our marriage is so much better and our love is so much deeper than everyone else's. This comment sums it up well:

[Howl]

I'm surprised that obvious snark poster "Grant Newlife" hasn't been blocked.  Because The Queen and Spanky take themselves so very seriously, they may not get the "grant new life" reference...

...and take Grant Newlife's comment literally and seriously. 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Howl

[Banyan]

4 minutes ago, Howl said:

I'm surprised that obvious snark poster "Grant Newlife" hasn't been blocked.

Obvious to us. Not so obvious to them. Pathological narcissists are unable to see it for what it is. They probably take Grant Newlife's comment as a compliment and say to one another, "See honey, the peasants are already agreeing that we're better than they are. Let's give them more of these episodes."

[Howl]

2 hours ago, Banyan said:

Pathological narcissists are unable to see it for what it is.

I have seen more than one person note that malignant narcissists (like Trump) have no ability to understand or employ humor.  

[Katzchen24]

Thanks for that. I didn't want to look at another one because I think they're just offering clickbait at this point. 

On 2/2/2021 at 5:21 AM, Banyan said:

Not that I'd recommend listening but... Season 1 Episode 7 of Sacred Marriage Under Fire. This is the only episode in which they aren't bashing his kids and accusing his late wife of "marital unfaithfulness." Just a lot of nauseating Mutual Admiration Society stuff and self-agrandizing Our marriage is so much better and our love is so much deeper than everyone else's. This comment sums it up well:

Spanky and the Queen's willingness to publicly put down the children and their ex's is just repulsive.

[Sarcastically spinster]

18 hours ago, Katzchen24 said:

Spanky and the Queen's willingness to publicly put down the children and their ex's is just repulsive.

Especially when it's a deceased spouse that nobody had a negative word to say about until your new flame entered the picture.  If there was a divorce, particularly a high-conflict divorce, it would be at least understandable even though not excusable.  But tearing down Denise in this context is SO clearly just to make themselves feel superior rather than anything actually negative with Denise.  It's disgusting.  

[MamaJunebug]

I’m not body-shaming. I’m reporting: I followed a link from the Spinderella Sproul site and Lisa appears to have gained a lot of weight. 

My point being: stress-eating?  I know food is my drug of choice. 
Stress-eating because of what imperfection in the Royal couple’s perfect world?

Hmm.

[Banyan]

On 1/23/2021 at 12:36 AM, hoipolloi said:

The video is shot at some outdoor venue (an abandoned building or property?) that he calls San Giovanni, which Spanky indicates is going to be the future Sovereign Grace Fellowship.

"GNL" posted a comment about it on Spinderella. Kind of lengthy, so I won't re-post the entire thing. Well worth reading it in its entirety since it contains a comparison between legitimate church fundraisers vs. Sproul's scam.

Quote

...Even before announcing his new home church RC Jr was posting weekly videos soliciting donations to buy an expensive piece of land to build his new church on. Talk about getting the cart before the horse! He has no idea how many people will even be attending his home church, but he's already planning on outgrowing his big living room? With his reputation in the toilet there's every reason to suppose it'll be a flop. I think even he knows it too, which is why I smell a scam.

The plot of land is called "San Giovanni." In his most recent video he says it costs $1.2 million. "The great news is the owner has agreed to finance it. We just need to come up with half in cash." $1.2 million is just for the land. This means the church construction costs would add $ millions more to the final bill. For those of us who know RC Jr's criminal history of tax fraud, identity theft, pilfering $ hundreds of thousands from the church coffers, commingling church and ministry funds, and ripping off other churches and ministries in travel expense scams, it's all too obvious his church building fundraiser is a fraud. Any donations he receives won't be safely locked away in an escrow account. Donations won't be held by a third-party trustee. He'll be in charge of the money himself, which means he'll use it to pay himself a lavish salary...

 

[Howl]

"Rev. Pastor Dr. Sproul Jr" for the win! 

This part of the GNL comment is so concerning: 

Quote

The plot of land is called "San Giovanni." In his most recent video he says it costs $1.2 million. "The great news is the owner has agreed to finance it. We just need to come up with half in cash." $1.2 million is just for the land.

Also, owner financing --  another huge red flag.  Is it known if the seller has a large mortgage on the property?  

Really, it's amazing to me that criminal charges were never pressed against RC, Jr. 

I'll enumerate from GNL's comment:

• tax fraud
• identity theft
• pilfering $ hundreds of thousands from the church coffers
• commingling church and ministry funds
• ripping off other churches and ministries in travel expense scams

What isn't mentioned is the Highlands Study Center fraud,  which apparently consisted of scamming tuition from gullible young people and their parents to "study" theology, without bothering to teach them anything except how to brew and drink beer in the basement, while using them as unpaid labor for the Sprouls. 

My only complaint about the Spinderella Sproul website is how much I hate white text on a black background. 

Anyway, might Lisa have gained weight after her recent surgeries?

[MamaJunebug]

2 hours ago, Howl said:

"Rev. Pastor Dr. Sproul Jr" for the win! 

This part of the GNL comment is so concerning: 

Also, owner financing --  another huge red flag.  Is it known if the seller has a large mortgage on the property?  

Really, it's amazing to me that criminal charges were never pressed against RC, Jr. 

I'll enumerate from GNL's comment:

• tax fraud
• identity theft
• pilfering $ hundreds of thousands from the church coffers
• commingling church and ministry funds
• ripping off other churches and ministries in travel expense scams

What isn't mentioned is the Highlands Study Center fraud,  which apparently consisted of scamming tuition from gullible young people and their parents to "study" theology, without bothering to teach them anything except how to brew and drink beer in the basement, while using them as unpaid labor for the Sprouls. 

My only complaint about the Spinderella Sproul website is how much I hate white text on a black background. 

Anyway, might Lisa have gained weight after her recent surgeries?

Last thing first: I hadn’t realized Lisa had surgeries. That could be it. 
 

Why Spanks has never been criminally charged probably has to do with the bunker mentality that exists in groups of people who think it’s them versus The World. In RCjr’s case , I’m guessing that was a congregation who followed him because he had the real and only truth, unlike all those established denominations out there. 
 

Also, I darkly wonder if the Sproul/Ligonier machine quashed any ideas of taking the crimes beyond the “church” and into the governmental realm. 

[Howl]

2 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

I darkly wonder if the Sproul/Ligonier machine quashed any ideas of taking the crimes beyond the “church” and into the governmental realm.

Hmmm, good point; considering the extent to which Vesta & Sr. (RIP) have protected and bailed out "Precious" this seems likely. 

Also, moral failings because DEVIL are one thing; being charged with a crime is something else.    With enablers picking up the legal bills for RC Jr's super lawyer, the DUI could ultimately be re-framed as a moral weakness leading to a great JESUS CHRIST! redemption story.  

Scamming and outright embezzling are much harder to explain away.  

[hoipolloi]

8 hours ago, Howl said:

Really, it's amazing to me that criminal charges were never pressed against RC, Jr. 

It is surprising, considering that he allegedly misappropriated the EIN assigned to a church, as well as committed other types of financial fraud:

Quote

 

State Law, Identity Theft:
The improper or unauthorized use of one or more identifiers belonging to another person or entity for the purpose of obtaining benefits or services is known as Identity Theft. Identity Theft is a crime in Virginia, and it may occur through nothing more than the unauthorized use of another’s Tax Identification Number (TIN). RC Sproul Jr committed Identity Theft by absconding with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church’s EIN in order to open one or more bank accounts and a credit card merchant account:

Code Of Virginia § 18.2-186.3. 

 

[N.B. The above was written by Peter Kershaw, so it's best read while keeping the salt nearby.]

Perhaps none of it came to the attention of the IRS or VA tax authorities.

Getting out of Dodge VA and moving to FL may have helped, too, and that was obviously done with RC Sr.'s & Vesta's assistance.

 

[Banyan]

RC Sproul Jr Announces New Church Racket

[MamaJunebug]

3 hours ago, Banyan said:

RC Sproul Jr Announces New Church Racket

Phew!  That’s brass.  Wonder where he’ll find his pigeons ... suckers ....