Tag Archives: get-rich-quick schemes

It Takes Houston & Pringle To Restore One Who “Reveals The Best Tips On Public Speaking”

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Associations

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pat mesiti brian houston phil pringle

This article will recap Pat Mesiti and his involvement with the leadership of Hillsong Church and C3 Church. It is our goal that our readers see how heavily Pat Mesiti was involved with the top leaders of the Hillsong and C3 Church movements and how they influenced him. The last part of this article will reveal the answer to the above question.

THE RECAP

We have been looking at the history of Pat Mesiti on both C3 Church Watch and Hillsong Church Watch. To recap quickly, we have recorded his involvement in Hillsong before his unfortunate fall. Phil Pringle and Brian Houston not only see themselves as pastors. In their books they see themselves as public motivational speakers. We’ve also learnt in an interview that Mesiti has been restored again as a pastor by C3 and Hillsong.

Just like Phil Pringle and Brian Houston, Mesiti wanted to be seen as a motivational speaker. He talks about how Hillsong and C3 have helped make him into someone who wants to make him a better pastor and business man in “evangelism, crusades” and “business functions”. Another article also informed us how Brian Houston was also there to guide, counsel and support Pat Mesiti. These three articles below look at transcripts that inform us how Pringle and Houston have provided the means for Mesiti to step back into pastoral ministry. (His prosperity theology and manipulative teaching methodologies need to be noted.)

Phil Pringle ‘Restoring’ Pat Mesiti As A Church Pastor

Phil Pringle & Pat Mesiti Conning C3 Church To Give Cash

And This Is How Pringle Restores Fallen ‘Pastor’ (And Prophet) Pat Mesiti?

Now that Hillsong and C3 ‘restored’ Pat Mesiti back into their leadership ranks, it was interesting to see a journalist make the connection to Mesiti and Hillsong. The journalist expressed their concerns of Mesiti’s “get-rich-quick schemes” through his money making books and conferences. This did not stop Phil Pringle have Pat Mesiti speak at his 2008 RealMen’s conference nor prevent him speaking on finances on ‘Positive Hits’ which use the C3 Church grounds up at Oxford Falls.

Nor did this stop Hillsong leadership have Mesiti speak in their conference over in Hillsong London in 2010.

A RAISED, RESTORED & RECOGNISED LEADER OF HILLSONG & C3

So what can we say? Pat Mesiti learnt from the best of the best that Hillsong and C3 had to offer. Knowing this (and after reading the above articles), don’t you think that Brian Houston and Phil Pringle have done a good job restoring Pat Mesiti as a pastor, teacher and leader?

Under Phil Pringle and Brian Houston, don’t you think Pat Mesiti has came out of this restoration process wiser? If you want to be successful like Pat Mesiti, maybe it’s worth taking this tip from him in this speaker snapshot in 2009:

Good tip Pastor Pat! Where did you got that tip on public speaking from?

Brian Houston’s Gospel

04 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Brian Houston's Beliefs

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God says through the writings of the Apostle Paul (emphasis ours),

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel [good news]— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” – Apostle Paul, Galatians 1:6-9.

It is important to stress that Paul would consider himself “accursed” (eternally damned), if he preached a different gospel. That is, he did not see himself exempt from his own judgment. Interestingly enough, Paul claimed that his gospel was given to him through “revelation of Jesus Christ”. So this should give us a good idea what the gospel should be about: Jesus Christ.

Paul often writes how he is “eager to preach the gospel” to the churches (Rom 1:15) and claims that he is “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (vs 16). Paul would “come proclaiming… the testimony of God…” not with lofty speech but would preach the simple message of “Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:1-2). This message would be in relation to how our sins are forgiven and are made right with God through Jesus when we repent from our sins.

This is one example of Paul’s gospel defined in a nutshell:

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

With this in mind, do you think Brian Houston comes even close to preaching the biblical gospel? While Brian Houston’s gospel might change lives, does it save lives? Does his gospel focus or glorify Jesus and his work on the cross, His resurrection and ascension? Or does Houston’s gospel focus on wealth and the individual?

It is typical for Word of Faith teachers to react against red herrings within Christianity. A common one is the idea that the ‘religious church’ keeps you back from your potential, “success and prosperity”. Similarly, Brian Houston reacts against these false uderstandings, jumps to an extremely false theology. Thus  we find that his gospel is founded on his personal reaction rather than the Word of God. Brian Houston tells us what his gospel is below:

“To glorify mediocrity is a tragedy. The sad fact is that far too many people make choices which flatly reject success and prosperity.

Religion has often been guilty of this, and yet the gospel is GOOD NEWS. The good news is ABUNDANT LIFE. Abundance means plentiful.

  • Adam was told to be fruitful and multiply.
  • Joshua was challenged to make his way prosperous and have good success.
  • Solomon’s writings are filled with promised prosperity as the fruit of wisdom.
  • Jeremiah believed it and prophesied “a future and a hope”.
  • Jesus spoke about one hundredfold return, telling many stories and parables that encouraged us to multiply our talents.
  • The apostle Paul reminded us that though Jesus was rich he took poverty upon Himself. Why? So that YOU through His poverty might be rich.
  • The apostle John wished prosperity and good health on his friend.

Never excuse mediocrity by rejecting success. It is withing our “created fibre” to succeed.” – Brian Houston, Get A Life (Revised Business Edition), 1999, pg 93.

In light of Brian Houston’s gospel, Pastor Gervase Nicholas Charmley kindly offered his view on Brian Houston’s gospel.

“I would say that this so-called ‘Gospel’ is no gospel at all. It is merely coating the rapacious and selfish pursuit of gain that has blighted Western society for the last century and then some with a veneer of religion. Quite simply it is the mantra “greed is good, greed works” dressed up in Christian-sounding words with a generous dose of misused Bible verses, usually from the KJV to disguise what the text is actually saying. Paul, on the other hand, speaks of contentment. To the poor this teaching is deadly – it either legitimises get-rich-quick schemes and a wealth at any price mentality, or, when people fail to get rich, it sinks them into deep depression.

God may not want you rich – you may not be able to handle it!” – Gervase Nicholas Charmley, 04/03/2013.

Guess Which “get-rich-quick” scheming Pastor This Journalist Is Warning Us Against?

26 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Associations, Books, Brian Houston's Beliefs, News Headlines

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Is this journalist warning us against ‘Pastor’ Brian Houston from Hillsong Church?

Is this journalist warning us against ‘Pastor’ Phil Pringle from C3 Church?

Is this journalist warning us against ‘Pastor’ Pat Mesiti who ministers at both C3 and Hillsong and is close friends with Pringle and Houston?

Houston Pringle Mesiti get rich quick scheme

Before reading the article below, please read how Phil Pringle of C3 Church mentored Pat Mesiti and restored him to be a ‘legitimate’ pastor again in 2006. It’s worth further noting that Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong Church is close friends with Pat Mesiti and was also with him though this restoration process.

Phil Pringle ‘Restoring’ Pat Mesiti As A Church Pastor

Therefore, ask yourself these questions while reading the below article:

1. If this journalist is asking people to be wary of Pat Mesiti’s “get-rich-quick schemes,” don’t you think it is worth being concerned who restored this Hillsong/C3 pastor back into ministry?

2. If Brian Houston and Phil Pringle see themselves as motivational speakers like Pat Mesiti, use similar ‘money magnet’ language like Pat Mesiti, spread similar teaching like Pat Mesiti and still endorse Pat Mesiti, how are they any different?”

3. How are Brian Houston and Phil Pringle’s prosperity-driven churches any different to Pat Mesiti’s “get-rich-schemes” organisation?

4. Does slapping Christian language on Pat Mesiti’s work and getting people “handing their cash over taking a leap of faith,” make his content 100% authentic Christianity?

5. If Pat Mesiti provides “no audit trails, no published success rates to prove it one way or the other,” then why is it also rare to hear these success stories in Hillsong and C3 Church?

6. What are the chances that Pat Mesiti got his prosperity theology from his ‘pastor’ friends Brian Houston and Phil Pringle?

Please keep these questions in mind as Fairfax NZ News reports the following:

Just who’s getting rich quick?

BY ROB STOCK

Books have always been used by salesmen to enhance their credibility, though a new series arriving in New Zealand takes that to a new pitch.

The nine books in the Millionaire Makers series ($14.99 each) tempt buyers with promises of “$100,000 in 100 days”, achieving “financial abundance for life”, or “Cracking the million dollar sales code”.

But these are really advertisements disguised as books, trying to drum up bums on seats for seminars in Auckland’s Aotea Centre in August, November and February at which the nine authors – some of the biggest names of the Australian wealth seminar scene – will attempt to sell mentoring schemes, high-risk options trading systems, boxed software programs and even franchise-style online marketing businesses to Kiwis who want to barely work at all and yet be fantastically rich.

Each book contains a “free” invitation to a seminar “worth $1994” (a very specific sum derived by comparison to the pricing of the seminars of US motivational speaker Tony Robbins).

In effect, punters who pick the books up from the natty black display stands in bookstores around the country are being asked to buy the advertisement for the seminar.

It’s brilliant marketing really, as befits the man behind the series, former evangelical pastor Pat Mesiti, now a preacher in the secular church of financial abundance.

Mesiti is a fascinating and charismatic man to meet, not least because of his colourful background as a preacher with the evangelical and highly commercial Hillsong church in Australia.

There’s no doubting the energy of the diminutive Mesiti (who is in great nick for a man whose brows now sport receding grey locks) nor his acute awareness that any journalist he meets is a single internet search away from learning about his past.

In fact, Yahoo’s new helpful habit of trying to anticipate your searching requirements suggested I add the word “scandal” to my search command even before I finished typing Mesiti’s name.

Consequently, it is he who brings up his public disgrace in 2001 when he was stood down as a preacher at Hillsong for visiting prostitutes, a scandal that led him to reinvent himself on the wealth-creation speaking circuit.

It’s still a sensitive point. As we talk the phone goes. A current affairs show producer calls as we talk, asking Mesiti to front for an interview. “Are they dirt-diggers?” he asks nervously, clearly weary of constantly revisiting his sexual sins.

Hillsong church and Mesiti still have much in common, including the message that God and Jesus want their believers to be rich, and, unusually, that Jesus was himself wealthy.

Mesiti sums it up for me. He doesn’t believe Jesus was broke. If Jesus was poor why did he have a treasurer? How could he have afforded to keep such a retinue of disciples? How else could he have afforded to take so much time off work?

Mesiti adheres to the school of thought among predominantly US preachers with a penchant for the good life that Jesus was wealthy, and what’s more, the mainstream churches know it, but are keeping the truth from people in order to amass riches for themselves (Mesiti points out that mainstream churches are among some of the biggest landowners in the world).

Mesiti’s stance is not far from Hillsong head man Brian Houston’s claim that true Christians are money magnets. “If you believe in Jesus, he will reward you here as well [as in heaven],” he once told a Sydney Morning Herald reporter.

Mesiti claims that despite having left Hillsong, he has a similar mission to the wealth- dispensing God. “I tell the people, their prosperity is my passion,” he says.

The nine authors of the Millionaire Makers series share that mission, Mesiti claims. That’s handy, because it is the only way to address the key paradox of the motivational speaker/ professional mentor: If they are so wealthy and successful, what are they doing on the speaking circuit flogging their books and mentoring systems?

“Those that can, do. Those that can’t, teach,” is the old saw that comes to mind, particularly for a journalist who has met many financially successful people.

The standard response is that they have a mission to teach and to free humanity from the shackles of society/poor schooling/bad parenting, which all combine in a malign conspiracy to keep us from the secrets of wealth.

Of course, the way to break free from the shackles and achieve wealth quickly and painlessly, according to the Mesiti school of thought, is to buy the book/the mentoring scheme/the software. Such mentoring brings “wisdom without the wait”, he tells me.

For the record, this cynical journalist for one is deeply sceptical about get-rich-quick schemes. I have no doubt they work – the problem is, I think they work for those selling them, not those buying them.

There are no audit trails, no published success rates to prove it one way or the other.

That leaves those handing their cash over taking a leap of faith.

I wouldn’t dispute that speakers like Mesiti can be a powerful force to motivate people to get out there and improve their lot, but it’s hard not to see that as secondary to the sales pitch. Pick your gurus carefully.

Source: Rob Stock, Just who’s getting rich quick?, Fairfax NZ News, http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/2548780/Just-whos-getting-rich-quick, Last Updated 29/06/2009. (Accessed 02/12/2012.)

proof_stuffNZ-Mesiti_02-12-12NOTE: SCREEN GRAB TAKEN ON THE 02/12/2012.