Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

ministry down and would not allow the ministry to send any mail to a donor asking for support. Then Demos recalled the Washington insider's call. Many churches during this time used bonds to raise funds. Rex had sold some bonds outside of Ohio, and the Securities and Exchange Commission used this to shut down the ministry. Demos and some other ministries pulled together and raised funds to pay off Humbard's bonds before the case went to court. Without their help, the ministry would have been seriously damaged, if not destroyed. This episode was a visible example of how television ministries were being carefully monitored in high places. Other cases may not be as visible, but they are just as insidious. The Threat of Major Television Ministries As the media reports became more liberal and biased against Christianity, the need for more Bible-based programming increased. National television airtime costs were so high that average ministries could not afford airtime. Local stations weren't interested in airing television evangelists, so a series of Christian television networks began to be established. One of the first was the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) founded by Pat Robertson. Starting out with one camera and God, Pat began broadcasting at three o'clock p.m. on October 1, 1961. His flagship program was The 700 Club, a very popular program with a talk show format. Soon other Christians began purchasing television stations to establish networks. Paul Crouch founded the Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) in California, and a young man named Jim Bakker (a former Robertson employee) launched PTL Network in Charlotte, North Carolina. As long as these Christian networks broadcasted Christian interviews, preaching, and gospel music, there was little conflict. But as the social trends in the nation leaned toward the left, the Christian networks began to use airtime to speak out against sin and spiritual wickedness in America. Immediately the media, including newspapers, rose up. Newspaper editorials blasted the networks and carried negative articles intended to cast doubt on the networks. Criticism became commonplace and, in some cases, hidden cameras were used to follow ministry workers to create exposés intended to cripple the networks' financial support. Others hunted for the occasional disgruntled former

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