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Christian News Today |
Ephesians
5:11 & Mark 4:22
Rev. Karl Strader – Senior Pastor
Carpenter’s Home Church, Lakeland, Florida
Emerald
Distributor Dan Strader retires from Amway to serve 45 years in Prison
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Emerald Distributor and son of
Tele-Evangelist Karl Strader of the Carpenters Home Church is taking time off
from his quest to Diamond by serving 45 years in prison for fraud. It seems
that making $100,000 a year in "residual income" as an Amway
Distributor was not enough for his taste. The Florida State prosecutors proved their case and convinced the
jurors that Dan Strader devised an elaborate scheme to attract cash in
real-estate and mortgage investments. He was selling the securities without a
license and that the securities were unregistered. This was done in an
organized method amounting to Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organizations,
or RICO Act. |
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The Lakeland Ledger reported
that April was a bittersweet month for Karl Strader. On Easter Sunday, he
marked his 35th anniversary as pastor of Carpenter's Home Church. A week
earlier, the latest appeal by his convicted son, Daniel, was denied. In the
twilight of his career, Karl David Strader is a living alloy of tradition and
progress, success and loss. In one generation, he has seen
his Pentecostal tradition grow in numbers and in acceptance. And by most
accounts, he has been an innovator, freely associating with faith groups
outside Pentecostalism and borrowing ideas from them. He built an empire at
Carpenter's Home in North Lakeland that has at times included a 10,000-seat
sanctuary, a national TV audience, a private school and a retirement home.
But his innovations were not appreciated by everyone, and 11 years ago,
strife decimated Carpenter's Home. Today, the cavernous sanctuary is perhaps
a quarter full on Sundays, and the TV broadcasts have been cut way back. |
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By Jason Geary The Ledger
Published
BARTOW -- A bid for
clemency by Daniel Strader, a former insurance agent and son of a prominent
Lakeland religious leader who is in prison for stealing more than $3 million
from investors, has been denied.
Strader, 48, has been
searching for mercy since his 1995 conviction on 238 criminal charges.
He is serving a 45-year
prison sentence with a scheduled release date in 2033.
In December, Karl Strader,
the founder of the Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland and father of Daniel
Strader, and other supporters made their plea to aides to the state Clemency
Board. They suggested Daniel Strader should be released from prison to begin
repaying his victims.
But the State Attorney's
Office in Bartow received a letter Tuesday from the Office of Executive
Clemency in Tallahassee with news that Strader's request to waive the clemency
rules to allow his case to proceed had been denied.
Gov. Jeb Bush and the
Cabinet members, who serve as the Clemency Board, denied Strader's request on
Feb. 6.
"It has been the
position of this office all along that his case wasn't appropriate for
clemency," said Chip Thullbery, administrative assistant state attorney.
"We believe the board made the correct decision."
Calls to the Governor's
Office did not glean any further detail about why the board came up with its
decision.
"There is not an
in-depth explanation for decisions written in the files for the clemency
hearings," said Russell Schweiss, a spokesman with the Governor's Office.
"The individual cases
are decided by the board based upon the recommendations of the clemency office
in addition to testimony and also records that are provided to the governor and
Cabinet members."
Strader may not apply for
another waiver for at least three years from the date the waiver was denied,
according to the rules of executive clemency.
Jason Geary can be reached
at 863-533-9079.
Family helps convicted
swindler with Web site, e-mails to governor.
By Jason Geary The Ledger jason.geary@theledger.com
BARTOW -- Daniel Strader is turning to the Internet and Gov. Jeb
Bush for salvation, having exhausted his legal appeals.
Nine years ago, a judge sentenced Strader -- son of Karl Strader, founder of
one of Polk County's largest churches -- to 45 years in prison for swindling
elderly investors out of more than $3 million.
In March, a federal judge denied Strader's request for a writ of habeas corpus
-- effectively ending his chance of reducing or overturning his sentence
through the courts.
So his family began a letter-writing campaign, focused on persuading Bush to
reduce his sentence.
About a month ago, the family created a Web site to jumpstart what it refers to
as a "divine intervention." See http://www.danielstrader.com/
The site includes essays from the 46year-old inmate about his divorce and
incarceration, updates on his appeals, pictures of Strader with his son and
daughter and a "Free Dan" graphic that explains the clemency process
and how to write a letter of support to Bush.
"He needs to be with his family -especially his 16-year-old son who has
leukemia," said Karl Strader, the 75year-old patriarch of Carpenter's Home
Church in North Lakeland.
So far, Strader's cyberspace campaign has generated a relatively lackluster
response -- between 30 to 40 supportive letters, Karl Strader said.
"These are people (like) presidents of Christian television
companies," he said. "They are really influential people who are
writing. They say Jeb Bush reads his e-mail, but I don't know."
The state's Office of Executive Clemency was created in 1975 to assist
convicted felons seeking pardons and help in restoring their civil rights or to
obtain relief from punishment. The governor and members of the Cabinet serve as
the Clemency Board.
Inmates make applications to the Florida Parole Commission, which investigates
the cases and makes recommendations.
In the past 24 years, the office has commuted 118 sentences, according to state
records. That means the sentences were nullified or lessened.
"Post-conviction relief is a rarity," said Tim Weber, the St.
Petersburg lawyer who represented Strader on his last appeal. "In my
experience, the cases where you get relief are where you are able to show the
court clear innocence.
"Clemency is not always an easy route because it becomes political."
STRADER'S STORY
Strader's is not the story of a man with a vast fraudulent scheme but one of a
man who lied in a desperate attempt to save a failing business, Weber said.
In his bid for clemency, Strader likely would argue that his trial lawyer, the
late Jack Edmund, provided an ineffective defense and that he was given an
unusually harsh punishment, Weber said.
The harshness of Strader's sentence already appears to be a central element of
his family's talking points and strategies.
Karl Strader described his son as a "political prisoner" who fell
victim to a media blitz in the early 1990s as eager prosecutors looked to win
praise for defending the elderly.
The danielstrader.com Web site contains a detailed chart comparing other local
highprofile fraud cases.
Daniel Strader's co-defendant, Georgia lawyer Gary Pernice, was sentenced to
spend one weekend a month in jail for 15 years and to pay restitution.
Another white-collar criminal convicted about the same time as Strader, Alice
Faye Redd, received a 15-year prison sentence and served 18 months for bilking
$3.6 million out of people who thought they were investing in Watson Clinic.
However, unlike those people, Strader rejected a plea bargain offering a
14-year sentence. Instead, he went to trial and was convicted on 238 charges
-ranging from theft and conspiracy charges to securities fraud and
racketeering.
Another aspect separating Redd's case from Strader's is that Redd, who died at
age 65, received a "conditional medical release" in 1998 because of
terminal spinal cancer.
WHAT INVESTIGATORS FOUND
Assistant State Attorney Wayne Durden spent more than a year with three
investigators working full-time to unravel the complex web of deceit in the Strader
case.
Durden said Strader claimed to have been investing money in discount mortgages,
annuities, mutual funds, short-term loans, property development -- even hot air
balloons.
Instead, he cashed investors' checks and returned some money to victims as
fraudulent interest or profit in what investigators described as a classic
pyramid scheme.
"The financial hardship that he (inflicted) on these victims in the case
is enormous," Durden said.
"To this day, there is no true indication of remorse or general
acknowledgment of criminal wrongdoing. . . . Society is better off with Daniel
Strader incarcerated."
Karl Strader contends his son was an honest businessman who intended to repay
everyone.
"There are about half a dozen people involved in the investment who want
vengeance and want him to rot in prison," he said. "They are full of
hate.
"He has apologized to everyone for making mistakes in business, but he
never intended to defraud anyone," he said.
THE VICTIMS' STORIES
At Strader's trial, victims testified to being "financially ruined"
and feeling "betrayed not only by the business community but also by the
Christian community in which Mr. Daniel Strader is held in such high
regard."
Nora M. Kuppinger, 81, who retired to Lake Wales from Chicago, was one of 60
individuals and couples who testified against Daniel Strader.
When she met Daniel Strader in 1979, Kuppinger said she thought he was a good
insurance agent and was impressed with his morals.
"You have faith in a man like that because he has a big religious
background," she said.
Kuppinger said Strader assured her she would not lose anything. She handed over
$100,000. Investigators calculate she lost about $56,000 in the scheme.
"He took me into it," Kuppinger said. "I just felt he was so honest.
Here I am a bigcity girl from Chicago, and he got me."
For years, Kuppinger said she felt embarrassed and was grateful that her
husband, John, died years before the scandal broke.
"When he died, he thought that he'd taken good care of me," she said.
Kuppinger said she has tried to forget Strader's lies but does not feel he
should be given clemency.
"In this case, it was absolutely pure greed, and I have no sympathy for
him at all for what he did," she said.
Some of Strader's victims said they do not believe they will ever see their
money again. At the time of Strader's 1995 sentencing, five of his victims had
already died.
Karl Strader said his son continues to maintain his innocence and wants to get
back home.
The family has managed to stay together -- calling on the telephone, writing
letters and making visits every couple of weeks to Avon Park Correctional
Facility, where Strader is incarcerated.
"We've kept close in touch, but it's like having four hurricanes in a row
-- it begins to wear on you," Karl Strader said.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041003/NEWS/410030380/1004
By Jeff Scullin, The Ledger,
BARTOW -- After nearly a decade, a federal court ruling this week all but ended Daniel Strader's appeals of his 45-year prison sentence for cheating elderly investors out of millions of dollars.
Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew denied Strader's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, declining Strader's request to review his claims that the state of Florida had violated his constitutional rights in prosecuting him for fraud and other charges. The judge denied Strader's petition with prejudice, barring him from filing a similar petition.
Unless Bucklew or the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta grants Strader what is known as a certificate of appealability -- basically, permission to appeal -- Bucklew's decision means Strader is out of legal challenges.
"An appeal is not automatic (because) the standard of review is fairly strict," Assistant Attorney General Trish McCarthy, who handled Strader's case, said Friday. "From our perspective, the case is at an end."
Tim Weber, the St. Petersburg lawyer who represents Strader, said he thought there were sufficient legal grounds on which to appeal Bucklew's ruling. He said he plans to discuss an appeal with Strader and his family next week.
If Strader decides not to appeal or the federal courts were to deny a certificate of appealability, Bucklew's ruling would be the "end of the line" of Strader's legal challenges, Weber said.
In 1995, Strader -- the son of Karl Strader, pastor of Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland -- was sentenced to 45 years in prison after a jury convicted him of 238 counts of theft, conspiracy, securities fraud and racketeering. He's been in prison since August of 1995 and is currently housed at Avon Park Correctional Institution.
As president of Interstate Financial Services, Strader, 45, organized a Ponzi scheme that bilked 56 investors, most of whom were elderly, out of $2.3 million.
Strader's subsequent appeals and motions for post-conviction relief failed. Two years ago, Weber filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the U.S. District Court in Tampa, arguing that Strader's due process rights had been violated.
The petition included allegations that prosecutors had withheld evidence favorable to Strader's case and that Strader had received ineffective legal representation because his lawyer, the late Jack Edmund, had not adequately prepared for trial or investigated the case.
But the heart of Strader's allegations was that prosecutors had coached their star witness and his former business partner, Gary Pernice, to change his testimony about promises they had made to him about receiving a lenient sentence in exchange for his cooperation.
Pernice, a former Atlanta lawyer, pleaded guilty in 1995 to felony grand theft charges involving three of Strader's victims. He was sentenced to spend one weekend a month in jail for the next 15 years and ordered to pay 28 percent of his income toward restitution.
Weber said Bucklew never addressed the allegation that prosecutors coached Pernice, which he called "the guts" of Strader's petition.
"We do not feel that the court even addressed the primary argument that we made, which is a little disconcerting," he said.
Other than appealing Bucklew's ruling, Strader's remaining option for lessening his sentence would be asking the governor for clemency. Weber said he thought Strader would have a case for clemency based on what he described as the inordinately lengthy sentence Strader received.
Strader is scheduled to be released from prison in September 2024, according to the Department of Corrections' Web site.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040327/NEWS/403270360/1004
(The Tampa Tribune
August 10, 1995)
“People
speaking in his behalf, honorable people, believe in Mr. Strader’s innocence.
They too are victims who have been taken in by what Straders says, rather than
seeing what he is and what he has done.” Judge Doyle
“He’s
created as much damage and heartbreak and ruined as many lives as any homicide
case I’ve every seen. “ State Attorney Jerry Hill
By William R. Levesque
LAKELAND-
The Florida Department of Insurance received two complaints in 1989 that Daniel
Strader was misdirecting some of his insurance
client’s money, documents obtained by the Ledger show.
One
complaint came from Strader’s employer, the Banker’s Life and Casualty Co.
which told the state it fired him after customers raised concerns, documents
show....
According
to insurance investigators Dan Strader took funds from clients to purchase a
policy or annuity; but instead deposited the money into an Interstate account.
On May 21,1987, an 80 year old Haines city woman, wrote the insurance
department a letter stating that she gave Strader $87,000 thinking that it
would be invested in a Chicago Insurance company.
But
instead the money was deposited, without her consent, into an account
controlled by Strader’s company—Interstate Financial Services, of which Daniel
was vice-president. Strader was investigated by Banking officials of the
Florida Department of Banking and finance, but the inquiry was closed because
Strader repaid the woman.
By Williams R. Levesque
... Some people as Craddock and
Riser, knew Strader well because he was their insurance agent. Many investors
knew him as the son of a well known local pastor.
Strader
35, is the son of Karl Strader, Pastor of the Carpenter’s Home Church in north
Lakeland.
A
1979 telecommunication graduate of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. the
younger Strader formed Interstate in 1985...
...
But Strader now operates out of an office at 222 Carpenter’s Way- The
Carpenter’s Crest condominium complex - and he no longer occupies his former
South Florida address. interstate is a general Partner in Carpenter’s Crest
Complex...
Daniel
Strader, 36 was arrested on Friday May 20, 1994, at his father’s beautiful
home, on a lake, across the street from an 18 hole golf course, for what the
State of Florida alleged that Dan did. He was the son of the Pastor and a
devout Church member of Carpenter’s Home Church. Also a former insurance
investigator and a self-made and self-proclaimed investor with a once-thriving
insurance practice.
The
State Attorney office of Florida would give a picture of a confident pitchman
whose financial world was in shambles. Interviews with investors by the media
revealed that Strader offered attractive double digit interest rates on their
so-called investments which turned out to be a sham.
The
Investors solicited by Dan Strader were
told many things about where their money was being invested, from real estate
to insurance companies or stocks or bonds, but ended up instead in a company
run by Dan Strader, Interstate Financial Services or in his personal pocket or bank
account.
All
the while, Dan Strader was telling others that he was paying the interest with
income from company owned properties. While it mainly came in from other
gullible investors who believed the Pastor’s son and this so called man of god
and graduate of Oral Roberts University who prayed with and preyed on them,
while he talked about Christ and quoted
Bible verses.
Investigators
would later show that Dan Strader’s five of the properties he had purchased for
investors with their funds, were actually in Strader’s own name. Many of his
so-called investors or victims, were his insurance clients or members of his
father’s church.
Dan
and Pastor Karl Strader also told the parishioners of Carpenter’s Home Church,
Lakeland, Florida that Dan faced real threats and dangers because of threats
from his investors. Although, this was never established as a fact, by the
Straders or by the court.
Many
people in and around Lakeland, Florida, especially preachers and retired
elderly, were really upset that they were conned out of their life’s savings by
the son of a prominent Assembly of God, Pastor. Karl Strader who once told
others that his original calling was to serve God in Russia as a missionary,
and started to learn the Russian language in order to fulfill his calling. Too
bad, Karl didn’t go to Russia, so many people would have been spared the pain
and agony of knowing and working with him!
Dan
Strader said about the arrest and all the rumors that he was innocent and it
was all a misunderstanding. A theme that was replayed by Dan and his family for
the next two years.
On
Sunday, May 22,1994, Pastor Karl Strader, 64, of Carpenter Home Church in
Lakeland, Florida, paraded his complete family including in-laws in front of
the congregation and told them that the
media and government were not hearing the full story of his son’s plight.
This
circus parade of the Straders was to repeat itself over the next two years,
because the Straders thought they were special in the eyes of God and man.
Little did they know what the community around them, religious and business,
really thought and said about them. Words such as crooks, hypocrites,
Pharisees, thieves, liars and murderers and wanted nothing to do with them.
All
along the Straders couldn’t figure out why the ten thousand seat church had
only a fraction of the people, the turnover of members and adherents was the
highest of any church in the states, and church was in financial trouble all
the time.
Karl
said, he was perplexed by the picture of his son portrayed by the investigators
and in the media reports. He also stated, that they have pictured us as a part
of the family we don’t know, for his son is a warm, loving, kind, very human
person, a person who trusts God and after 36 years was caught in a web
drowning. Nothing was farther from the truth, as Karl Strader’s spoken words
were, as the mountain of evidence and testimony of real elderly victims, would
later show.
One
thing about the Straders was true, they knew how to use nice oratorical words,
other people and bring God into it. In
their words and deeds, it was always the fault of others, but never of the
Straders. They also acted and did things as though they were better an others,
and stayed aloof from everybody. Pastor Karl Strader was hard to find after a
church service. Even Joyce Strader, his wife, said that the Pastor kept to
himself and didn’t say much to others.
In
the circus parade, Pastor Karl Strader stated what was to be his standard
response for the next year about Dan Strader, “ All we ask is a fair trial and
opportunity for him to make restitution. His heart is very tender towards God.
He is seeking the Lord. There never has been a time when he hasn’t sought the
Lord to my knowledge. We’re all looking for a supernatural deliverance, for God
is a God of miracles.”
Well
Dan received his fair trial, he was found guilty of seeking illegally the
riches of this world, supernatural
deliverance never came, Karl’s knowledge was of Dan was poor, and Dan never
confessed that he did something really wrong, and neither did the Straders.
The
fact remained that as a result of the Ponzi scheme operated by Dan Strader and
the Redds (also once members of Carpenter’s Home church) in Polk County,
Florida, some people lost their homes and many other things including their
lives.
A
Ponzi scheme is where returns are paid to older investments by using funds from
newer investors. Many were not able to recover financially, from the loss of
their life’s savings being stolen by so-called Christians, who were also
members of the Assembly of God Churches.
Many
of the real victims were retired elderly, who invested with Dan Strader or the
Redds because they were recommended as a good Christian people. They trusted
these Christians, as they came from a prominent Assembly of God church, which
was supposed to be the home of the Carpenter, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Well
for the record, the real “Carpenter”
worked for a living, He didn’t collect money nor steal from others. He also
blessed, healed and delivered people and gave even His own life for them rather
than to put them in bondage.
Jesus
Christ was literally innocent of all the accusations that the religious leaders
and the authorities of the day made against Him. The Straders and Redds were
guilty of their crimes, which included robbing, stealing, lying, hurting and
even causing people to die prematurely.
Many
of their victims, out of embarrassment, or because they were Christians, didn’t
file any charges or complaints against them. Some of the victims, especially in
Carpenter’s Home church, even believed that Dan Strader one day would return
their money, because he gave his word and the Strader name was “a good name
which could be trusted.”
Dan
Strader, after his arrest on May 20, 1994, by investigators of the Florida
State’s Attorney office, stated that the only thing that he was guilty of was
stupidity and ignorance. Well, the
Ledger also printed an article by William R. Levesque, about Dan Strader’s
home, which he purchased in 1991.
It’s
an unbelievable story and showed more than just ignorance and stupidity. Even though Dan defrauded around four million
dollars from others, on May 14, 1994, he owed $210,564.00 on a mortgage on it,
that had an original value on his home of $210,000, which was in his wife’s
name, and owed back taxes on it from 1989 of $20,400.00. Strader’s electricity
had also been turned off 13 times since 1995 for non-payment of bills through
1994. Concerning this entire area, the bible is very clear.
But
if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (I Timothy
5:8)
This
is something, that as a pastor’s son, he should have been aware of. The state
attorney’s office stated that some cash derived from expensive local
check-cashing services, of investors checks, were deposited in bank accounts of
Dan Strader and his wife Melissa, and they were used to pay the couples
personal debts. Again Dan, as a pastor’s son and graduate of Oral Roberts University,
should have known the bible, which stated:
Let
him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Ephesians
4:28)
It
was also established in the courts by Debby, Dan Strader’s secretary from 1989
to 1992, that Dan quoted the bible “The wealth of the wicked will be inherited
by the righteous.” Especially when he talked about and mocked three of his
investors and called them alcoholics, a red neck and a truck driver. Other
events would show that the Straders knew how to quote Scripture verses but they
didn’t know how to live by them. There is a difference that is evident to all!
Although,
some people, including Senior Pastors of Assembly of God churches, memorized
chapters and even books of the Bible, they definitely didn’t put into practice
the bible the way it was meant to be. For many of them did not do anything
about the injustices and wrongs in their denomination. Again, there is a
difference between memorizing and doing the bible.
What
was proven and established by the courts was that Dan stalked and preyed on the
trusting and defenseless elderly. The unfortunate part is that the group of
people, who were mostly hurt by the criminal actions of Dan Strader and his
competitor Alice Faye Redd, were the elderly. It was a group that was
defenseless and powerless and an easy prey to those who were supposed to be
trustworthy.
In
the PTL Scandal, it was also the widows with their small monthly incomes that became
the target of Jim Bakker, in his search for easy money. It was no coincidence
that both Jim and Dan pleaded not guilty and they both got a 45-year sentence.
However,
it was a group that Jesus Himself would have been most upset about, because
Jesus saw what the widow and the Pharisee gave to the house of God.
So
He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;
“for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she
out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke 21:3-4)
Jesus,
also told us:
“Beware
of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the
marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will
receive greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46-47)
Once
upon a time, when the Straders had their abundance in Carpenter’s Home Church,
Pastor Karl Strader had bodyguards, who were protecting him and other people
who would park his limousine for him, but the times have changed and so have
the people.
At
first, when Daniel Strader company was under investigation, he told the Ledger
he owed investors no more than $235,000.00 and that some of that was not due
immediately. Court records would later reveal the amount he owed was closer to
$1.5 million.
It
was another one of those ‘heavenly exaggerations,’ of religious people as
Stephen Strader has defined it or a lie to normal people like you and I, that
both Dan and his father, Karl, did over the years when they talked about Dan’s
company or Carpenter’s Home Church’s finances. Ironically Dan Strader’s wife,
Melissa said, “my husband’s biggest crime is being the son of a preacher.”
Daniel
Strader, as per Judge Doyles’ remarks, conducted a “Ponzi scheme.” To obtain
funds for his scheme Mr. Strader utilized his position as a trusted insurance
agent for many of his victims, and a position of trust as the son of a
well-respected minister at one of Polk county’s largest and prominent churches.
The
guise under which the defended obtained money from his victims varied from
victim to victim. To many of the victims, he lied that he was investing their
money by purchasing and reselling “discounted mortgages.” There is no evidence that the defendant
actually purchased or sold discounted mortgages, said Judge Doyle.
Other
schemes involved fraudulent representations, that the defendant was investing
his victim’s money in hot air balloons, in C.D.’s, or mutual funds, and
property development. In the process, Dan Strader gave some victims worthless
mortgages. The evidence also showed he was using investors’ money to make
payments to earlier investors, not where he told them he was investing their
money.
A
similar technique was used by some in Carpenter’s Home Church to keep it alive
since the split of 1989. In other words, find new people to replace the people
that had left and deceive the new people in contributing more. In addition, to
sell any church asset and do anything to stay alive at all costs.
As
a result, in June 1995 WCIE the churches radio station built from the donations
of others was sold before the mid pint of the season for 5.1 million dollars to
offset the church’s indebtedness over the last seven years.
Something
that Judge Doyle stated that Dan Strader was doing just prior to his arrest
trying to stay alive and ahead of the law. Rather than investing any of his
victims money the defendant stole their money or returned it to them as
fraudulent interest or profit. Most of the Victims were unsuspecting and
trusting elderly.
The
Straders not only talked well but also wrote letters. I, as many others, read a
one page letter sent by Daniel Strader’s brother, Stephen Strader and his
sisters, Karla and Dawn which was also reprinted in the Ledger. The letter solicited funds for Strader’s
legal defense. Investigators were charging him with 259 felony counts and for
scheming to defraud Central Florida’s elderly residents. The letter didn’t talk
about the real victims of Dan’s crimes but stated:
“Dan
is facing bankruptcy and life imprisonment because of mistakes he made in his
business. Because of these mistakes and the economy, some of Dan’s business clients have suffered losses.
While many of these good people have been willing to give Dan the opportunity
to recovery financially, others have been unwilling or unable to give Dan more
time to make things right.
The system
which holds Dan’s fate in its hands seems almost sinister in its
inclination, conscious or not to damage Dad and the church. The press and some
of Dan’s investors have not hesitated to drag out Dad and the Church into the
mire.”
All
we want for Danny is that he be treated fairly, and that he be given the
opportunity to set things right. He has been faithful to the Church and to his
small family [ whose electricity was cut off 14 times in one year because of
non payment of bills by Dan ]. He loves God and feels the call of God on his
life. He is seeking the Lord now more than ever in his 6 by 10 cell with only
his Bible. Being human, Danny has made
mistakes, but he is sincere in his desire to make things right. He wants all of
his investors and business associates to be made whole.”
Our
reasons for contacting you is to let you know about this trouble, because we
know that you will want to show your love and support to our parents. We also
want you to know how critical this situation is. Dan has no money, and cannot
afford to pay a qualified lawyer to defend himself. Our parents cannot afford
to handle the expenses of Danny’s
defense by themselves.”
Mary
wrote a letter to the Editor titled “Strader gutless, selfish“ which was
printed in February, 1995, in the Ledger, concerning Daniel’s decision to
withdraw his guilty plea. For Strader was accused of soliciting investments in
income producing properties and in his company and instead the money was
converted to cash and deposited for his personal use and pleaded guilty. She
stated:
A
truly revolting and shameful display. The Reverend Strader should be double
ashamed - not only did he raise a criminal, he raised a gutless selfish whiner.
Later,
we were to learn that Dan’s parents, the Straders, lived in a debt free $400,000 home on a lake next to a golf course
drove two luxury towncars and made a salary in the six figure bracket not
including special perks.
While
other parents, who sold their homes and possessions to help one of their
daughters or sons in their time of trouble, the Straders in their usual style
asked others to contribute and made only
small token contributions themselves. For their other children protested
that dad was not to spend their inheritance in defending Dan.
If
Dan was innocent as Pastor Karl Strader said many times, why didn’t Karl
Strader, as a concerned parent sell any of his assets, especially the luxury
towncars to help him? This was something that haunted me and spoke loudly to me
that something was really wrong in the
pastor’s behavior and actions as a Christian.
Later,
Pastor’s old time friend and associate of seventeen years would tell me why.
The other children complained that the Pastor was spending their inheritance to
help Dan Strader.
In
response to the Strader’s letter soliciting funds for Dan Strader’s defense
fund, the Ledger ran an article on Saturday, May 28, 1994, titled, “Strader
family requests prayers, donation.”
Saying in part:
Jim
Bakker’s one-time top aide in PTL ministry has set up a legal-defense fund for
jailed businessman Daniel D. Strader, the beleaguered son of a well-known local
pastor.
Richard
Dortch [ An Assembly of God Pastor] who pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy
in the PTL scandal served 16 months in federal prison, has set up a trust fund
to pay Strader’s legal fees.
Dortch
helped sell $158 million in “lifetime partnership to PTL followers, but federal
prosecutors later charge the ministry could never meet those partnerships
included-like three night’s lodging at PTL hotels in South Carolina.
Dortch
also arranged a $265,000.00 payment to Jessica Hahn to keep her from revealing
a sexual liaison she had with Bakker at a St. Petersburg Beach hotel.
An
engineer who was on staff with CHC worked, out a plan for Carpenter’s Home
church in the summer of 1995, to fix the roof for $24,000.00 and presented it
to them. The Executives of CHC decided they would raise $160,000.00 instead and
do it differently. Why not? This has always been the Strader way of doing
things, using other people’s money to do
things.
A
former staff member of CHC told me the story one day, of how a poor and needy
person came to Carpenter’s Home Church and was in need of food and shelter.
Joyce Strader, the wife of pastor Strader, ordered CHC to immediately write a
check for this lady for fifty or a hundred dollars. While this act by Joyce was
a very noble one, it displayed a few things that were wrong with the Straders.
·
First, the check didn’t come out of Joyce’s pocket but CHC’s.
·
Second, Joyce commanded that a check be written and issued
right away even though she was not an executive or on the board of CHC. (The
Straders know how to get and use others people’s money for noble causes, such
as Dan’s defense fund, and put very little of their own and do nothing for the
victims.)
Court
records showed that when Karl Strader told the media that he “was tapped out
helping Dan,” Karl stated to the judge Doyel
that he had given $5,000.00 to help Dan’s defense fund. This amount was peanuts for a man who earns a
salary in the six figures brackets and lives on a beautiful home on
Heatherpoint Drive, by a lake, in front of a golf course, and owns two luxury
towncars. Not many pastors in America live like this or earn such a salary or
have the luxury of writing their own articles of Incorporation to give
themselves what ever they wanted.
Former
staff members, who knew personal and intimate things about Joyce and Karl
Strader, told me that when the Dan’s
teacher used to tell the Straders that Dan was a doing something wrong, the
Straders scolded the teacher, not the boy. It seemed that
the Straders’ way of bringing up their kids was to refuse to see or
accept that anything was wrong with them, and deal with it.
This
is what started the 1989 church split, not doctrines and not finances, but that
Steve Strader, the son of Karl, and
Shane Simmons the son in law, were
abusing and using church properties to their own advantage. Shane had the
church truck for his use and home in the evening and weekends when others
didn’t.
It
was this that led Roy Aldrich, in January 1996, to write the following strong
and maybe true remarks to Karl Strader:
You
may remember Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his son if necessary but you have gone about sacrificing any-one
who questioned Dan’s lies, a total perversion of such magnitude that Dan,
obediently following your lead, has been judged very harshly, not primarily by
judge Doyel but by God.
You
are the one who should be in that jail.
Since
Abraham was willing to put truth and his Lord in preference over his precious
son, Jehovah gave his son back.
Since
you put your son first in willful disregard of the truth and your Lord, you
have had Dan taken away. When the Father gave up His precious Son Jesus for
death, the example was established that sacrificial love is mandated for people
like you, not Mafia-style termination’s.
In
other words, in Christianity God gave up his only Son Jesus, to save the world;
in Straderism, Karl gave up his sheep to save His son, Dan.
Stephen
Strader, whom I got to know quite well, an Associate pastor and Evangelist at
large for Carpenter’s Home Church, was a sincere, idealistic, and helpful individual who honestly didn’t or didn’t want to know what he, his father or
brother were doing wrong. But neither did the rest of the Straders!
As
a matter of fact, to Stephen, his use of different facilities of Carpenter’s
Home church, such as a special salary, cellular telephone, trips and stationery
were alright as the church was now the
responsibility of the Straders. Others more qualified were let go so that he
could remain on the staff. The Straders now ran the church, because everybody else was untrustworthy or
was out to get them.
Karl
and Joyce Strader, also made references to this idea. They would remind many
times the audiences, even during the Sunday morning services, about the night when they were betrayed, like Jesus
was by Judas, by their closest friends. It was etched in their minds and
expressed in their words from their heart.
In
1988 to 1989, Jim, an associate Pastor and second in command to Karl Strader, a
man of law and order, rebuked the leadership for Stephen and Shane’s, Karl’s
son in law, misuse of church property.
This made Karl Strader become very angry
and upset.
As
a result, Karl went about doing
everything to try to make Jim leave including getting his choice false prophets
to speak to Jim about leaving. Karl Strader’s unmitigated anger and actions
concerning his expressed dislike of Jim resulted in the sixty-four charges to
be made by the board of Carpenter’s Home Church against him. Which resulted in
the split of the church in 1989.
One
of the accusations made during this infamous Church meeting, was
that Shane, was driving the church truck
in the evenings, while others were not allowed. Another was Stephen was getting
paid overtime, while other were not.
The
result of this church split was that
over fifty percent of the members including the most influential, educated and
wealthy ones left the church. Partiality and being a respecter of persons was
common among the Straders and other leadership in AG even though the book of
James says:
My
brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold
rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy
clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to
him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand
there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among
yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)
It
was a point that I was later to bring in writing to Pastor Karl Strader and the
other Associated Pastors. I wrote to them on September 18, 1995 the following:
I
can not help but to write and say what
is on my heart; even though you and your pastoral staff have your hands full!
After
much prayer and agony on the matter, the Lord gave me some verses and key words
about some of the things that seem to be going on in Carpenter’s Home Church
and why things have been delayed. I would like to bring these key words found
in James 3 to the attention of the
pastoral staff and elders for their prayer and action. The key words are
“meekness of wisdom”, “self seeking”, “confusion” and “without partiality and
without hypocrisy.”
Unfortunately,
these words do not necessarily apply to one person individually; but sometimes
collectively to the body of Christ at Carpenter’s Home Church. It is easier to handle something when we can
zero in on a few individuals, persons or a group and deal with them.
In
James 3:13, we read, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by
good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14: But if you have bitter
envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against
the truth. 15: This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly,
sensual, demonic.
16: For where envy and
self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17: But the wisdom that
is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
18: Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Obviously,
the Pastors of Carpenter’s Home Church didn’t pay much attention to my letter.
For as Pastor Karl Strader stated to me “Who was I,” and “Why should he listen
to me?”
In
their minds I was a stranger, a nobody, and as Karl stated to one of the church
counselors “a very opinionated person.“ Definitely I was not one for wearing
gold rings and fine apparel. Worst of all I parked my own car and it was not a
Lincoln or a Cadillac, never mind a Mercedes, as some of the pastor’s friends
had. My car was an ordinary Ford. But they made the bible come true:
For
I proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock,
His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without
injustice; righteous and upright is He. They have corrupted themselves; they
are not His children, because of their blemish: a perverse and crooked
generation. (Deuteronomy 32:4-5)
It
is amazing that many Assembly of God pastors, as Karl Strader and Jim
Bakker, claimed to speak and act on
behalf of God. But according to the Bible, we see that God’s ways and character
are for justice, truth, and righteousness. Something these Pastors did not show
by their attitudes and obvious actions.
Although
we attended Carpenter’s Home Church for around 18 months, Sandy and I never got
to know any of the Strader women; except passing them by like ships in the
night on the church grounds. Mind you,
Pastor son-in-law Shane Simmons, an associate pastor of the church, was a nice
guy and I talked to him a few times. Then I am reminded by the Straders about what is wrong with con artists? They
always smile, speak softly, never get angry or show their emotions in public.
You never get to know the real person, just the image of what they want you to
see.
Well,
I personally dislike superficiality and the shallowness of con artists. I love
the realness, and spunk of ordinary people. The facts would later show the
Straders for what they are and how they:
·
Ignored the plight of the elderly victims
and raise tens of thousands of dollars for Dan.
·
Ignored moral discrepancies in Dan’s multiple
admission of lying and guilt, and declare victory over their enemies, which
never came.
·
Identified the forces of darkness as anyone
who would question their views and positions on matters, especially in regards
to Dan’s crimes.
·
Ridiculed and lampooned Dan’s victims, by
deriding them for testifying against Dan.
·
Arrogantly refused to admit doing any
significant wrong and say it was the fault of others a conspiracy out to get
them, because of who they are, high profile Christians.
·
Repeatedly used the pulpit of Carpenter’s Home church to
issue misleading statements about Dan and others such as “we are being
crucified by the press” and using lies and deceptions.
·
Issued unbelievable hate and slander from a
public pulpit, on three investors or victims, who were embezzled by a con
artist.
·
Used people and things in Carpenter’s Home
Church for their own hidden agendas. Jim, who was used by the Straders for his
considerable talent, and to do the punishing work of building Carpenter’s Home
Church, then threw him out like a gum wrapper. Jim believed in checks and balances, and this was
something that Karl and Dan Strader didn’t do or practice. Therefore, they
hated Jim for loving the truth, and sought a means, at all costs, even at the
price of splitting the church, to see him removed from his position.
·
Denied members and staff members access to
elected deacons, and used others on staff
as Roy Aldrich had written to
work them over with “a rubber hose” for not submitting to their demands and
wishes.
·
Ensured that their salaries were
confidential and their positions were maintained at all costs, while others
less fortunate and more talented had to leave, even though they had given their
best and expected a degree of respect for their loyalty and hard work. It
wasn’t what you did but who you know, and the same is true in churches today.
“We’ve Won!’
When
the jury came in with its verdict on July 11, 1995 and found Daniel David
Strader, the son of Senior Pastor Karl Strader of Carpenter’s Home Church,
guilty on 238 counts for robbing and raping the sheep, the following Sunday,
July 16, 1995 Pastor Karl Strader told his congregation “We’ve won!’
Well the Associated Press reported on November 15,
2001 that the sheep lost:
"The North American Securities Administrators
Association says there were $500 million in losses from religious affinity
scams in 1989, the first year the organization made such a tally. That figure
has been eclipsed by two recent schemes -- the Baptist Foundation of Arizona
and Florida's Greater Ministries International -- which together have cost
40,000 investors nearly $1.3 billion.
In the last three years alone, 27 states have taken
action against scams that used religious or spiritual beliefs to bilk more than
90,000 investors, the NASAA estimates."
Well Lyons, Strader, Hinn, Tilton, BFA and Greater
Ministries have been on CNT’s hit list for a number of years? Check out
http://www.christiannews.0catch.com/chc.htm
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/extra/bfa/baptist.html
http://headlines.yahoo.com/Full_Coverage/US/Henry_Lyons
http://www.davidicke.net/religiousfrauds/pentecostal/godfraud.html
http://www.christiannews.0catch.com/strader.htm
http://www.christiannews.0catch.com/hinn.htm
http://www.christiannews.0catch.com/tilton.htm
http://www.christiannews.0catch.com/news1.htm
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/9te/9te026.html
http://www.discernment.org/Charismania/drjoyce.htm
http://tampabayonline.net/reports/minister/homealt.htm
http://tampatrib.com/News/GreaterMinistries.htm
So
in a way Christian News Today can say “we’ve won!’ For we have been successful
in exposing wolves in sheep’s clothing since AP is now reporting about it and
27 states have taken action about it? Therefore Watch, And Remember
"Therefore I testify to you this
day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. "For I have not shunned to declare to
you the whole counsel of God.
"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God
which He purchased with His own blood.
"For I know this, that after my
departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
"Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to
draw away the disciples after themselves.
"Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease
to warn everyone night and day with tears.
"So now, brethren, I commend you to God
and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an
inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
"I have coveted no one's silver or gold
or apparel. "Yes, you yourselves
know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were
with me. "I have shown you in every
way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to
receive.' " Acts 20:26-35
For the Rev. Karl Strader, 35 Years of Trial and
Triumph
A Walk of Faith
Sunday, July
1, 2001
By CARY McMULLEN
Ledger Religion Editor
Standing on the platform in Carpenter's Home
Church, the Rev. Karl Strader is a striking figure in a fashionable suit with a
three-button jacket. At 6 feet, 1 inch, he has the square-jawed features of a
movie idol from another era, although they are somewhat dimmed with age, and
his wavy hair is thinning now. He preaches from the old King James Bible in an
authoritative style far removed from the slangy, modern talks that pass for
sermons. "We've got to be real, genuine Christians so we can be ready for
the Lord to come. I don't care how many times you've been to the altar. Let's
be sure we've got Jesus in our hearts today. Today!" he exclaims.
April was a bittersweet month for
Strader. On Easter Sunday, he marked his 35th anniversary as pastor of
Carpenter's Home Church. A week earlier, the latest appeal by his convicted
son, Daniel, was denied. In the twilight of his career, Karl David Strader is a
living alloy of tradition and progress, success and loss.
In one generation, he has seen his Pentecostal
tradition grow in numbers and in acceptance. And by most accounts, he has been
an innovator, freely associating with faith groups outside Pentecostalism and
borrowing ideas from them. He built an empire at Carpenter's Home in North
Lakeland that has at times included a 10,000-seat sanctuary, a national TV
audience, a private school and a retirement home. But his innovations were not
appreciated by everyone, and 11 years ago, strife decimated Carpenter's Home.
Today, the cavernous sanctuary is perhaps a quarter full on Sundays, and the TV
broadcasts have been cut way back.
Strader bears an even deeper wound.
Those who know him say the scandal surrounding his son's arrest and 1995
conviction on fraud charges have affected him more deeply than any other
setback. Yet at 72, Strader soldiers
on, preaching and laying hands on people who come forward in hopes of a healing
touch. He says he will remain as pastor of Carpenter's Home as long as his
health is good. He tells his congregation, "I'm past the age scripture tells
me is given to us of three score and 10. But God has given me a wonderful life
of health and strength. I'm shooting for 100."
TRADITION, INNOVATION
Strader, born in humble circumstances in Oklahoma
of devout Methodist parents, committed his life to God when he was 16. After
graduating high school, he went to study at fundamentalist Bob Jones University
in Greenville, S.C. While there, he began attending Pentecostal churches and
eventually experienced the "gift of the Holy Spirit" that Pentecostals
believe includes making prophecies; healing the sick; and "speaking in
tongues," an ecstatic form of speech that is unintelligible to humans but
which believers say is understood by God Fundamentalists and Pentecostals
historically have segregated themselves from other faith traditions, especially
more liberal Protestants and Catholics, on the grounds those churches'
doctrines are in error. Years after he graduated, a photo of Strader with
Catholics and Episcopalians came to the attention of school officials. The president of the school, Bob Jones Jr., sent Strader a letter
asking him never to tell anyone he studied there. Strader says the photo
captured him interacting with people from other traditions who had Pentecostal
experiences, such as speaking in tongues, part of a "charismatic"
movement that swept through Catholic and mainline Protestant churches in the
1970s and 1980s. "They're isolationists," he says of Bob Jones
officials. "I don't want to have
fellowship with those who don't believe the Bible is the word of God, but I do
endorse the unity of believers," Strader says. It would not be the last
time Strader would get in trouble for consorting with other traditions.
In his last year at Bob Jones, Strader met Joyce
Wead, the recreation director at Shriner's Hospital in Greenville. They shared
an interest in poetry and theater and became engaged. "Karl took a prize
on a radio program called Down Memory Lane. He would memorize poetry. And at
Bob Jones, every Sunday afternoon they used to have drama," Joyce Strader
recalls They were married in a garden surrounded by children in wheelchairs and
on crutches. It would be the beginning of a partnership in life and in
ministry. Joyce Strader, 72, has played a part in many of her husband's
decisions and today has her own half-hour Sunday radio program, "Heart to
Heart," on the Carpenter's Home station, WTWB 1570 AM.
After graduating from Bob Jones University's
seminary in 1954, Strader joined the Assemblies of God and had a brief stint as
a pastor in Indiana. He then spent six years in Lakeland, first as dean of men
at Southeastern College, an Assemblies-related school, then as director of
youth for the Assemblies' Peninsular-Florida District office.
FRESH WIND BLOWING
The Straders went back to Indiana in 1960. Strader served churches in Gary and
South Bend, both heavily Catholic areas. They returned to Lakeland in 1966 for
Karl Strader to become pastor of First Assembly of God, a 325-member
congregation near downtown. Changes were afoot in the American religious scene.
The Jesus Movement would soon bring waves of young people and their
contemporary music into the church. "It was the year when the
(charismatic) outpouring on Catholics took place. That was probably the
greatest impact on the growth of the church," Strader says. Catholic and
mainline charismatics were rejected by their churches, which were bewildered
and turned off by their exuberance and the practice of speaking in tongues.
Strader welcomed them with open arms into his church, with its enthusiastic services.
But the charismatics were even too much for some traditional Pentecostals, who
were used to more discreet displays of singing or speaking in tongues.
"He has always walked to the beat of a
different drummer. He's a very open man," says Frank Macchia, associate
professor of theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., who taught
at Southeastern College from 1992 to 1998. "At one of the services I
attended, he preached a sermon about holding the hand of God. At the end, he
had someone play The Beatles' 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand.' I'd never experienced
anything like that. He likes to grab people's attention, and I have to confess,
I never forgot that."
Such theatricality invites comparisons
to one of Strader's heroes, fellow Oklahoman Oral Roberts. As a young man,
Strader heard Roberts preach and eventually sent his sons, Stephen and Daniel,
to school at Oral Roberts University. The school awarded him an honorary
doctorate in 1985, and today he sits on its board of regents. But Strader is a more reserved preacher than Roberts. He prides
himself on sticking to the Bible, spends hours memorizing whole sections of it
and quotes liberally from passages in his sermons.
Strader eventually allowed other innovations,
including the use of drums and guitars in worship, far ahead of the current
wave of contemporary music. And he borrowed from a small branch of Pentecostals
known as "Latter-reign" the use of colorful banners and costumed
dancers, reflecting the interest he and his wife continued to have in the arts.
"He could be considered a progressive Pentecostal," says the Rev.
Reggie Scarborough, pastor of Family Worship Center in Lakeland, who grew up
attending First Assembly under Strader. "He broke with tradition, but some
traditions needed to be broken to come into what God is doing today."
EXPANSION, JIMMY SWAGGART, THE SPLIT
First Assembly expanded its facilities twice to
keep up with growth, and Strader decided the church should build a sanctuary that
would hold twice the 5,000 people who were then attending. In the late 1970s,
the church acquired the retirement home and grounds of the United Brotherhood
of Carpenters and Joiners north of the interstate, sold all but 125 acres and
began construction on the 10,000-seat sanctuary that would be named simply
Carpenter's Home Church. The name, borrowed from the union, is a reference to
Jesus, who was a carpenter. It was completed in 1985, at a cost of $12.5
million. It was an ideal venue for TV, and services from Carpenter's Home were
at one time on the PTL and Trinity cable networks, reaching several hundred
stations nationwide.
But questions about Strader's theology persisted.
Assemblies of God televangelist Jimmy Swaggart filed charges against Strader with
denominational offices, saying he moved the church into false religious
practices. In 1987, district officials cleared him of the charges. At the peak of his success in 1989, resentments about Strader's
freewheeling style came to a head. Members of the board of deacons tried to
wrest control of the church from him. Opponents charged him with not following
Assemblies of God doctrines and with nepotism, pointing to two of Strader's
children -- Stephen Strader and Karla Dickson -- on the church's staff.
He was also accused of being dictatorial, which
evokes laughter from Stephen Strader, who serves as the church's senior
associate pastor. "He has a strong personality. He's not weak, but he is a
meek, humble man. I'm always telling him, 'You need to take charge.' "
Strader refused to quit and survived a
congregational vote, but the damage was done. About 800 people left to form
Victory Assembly of God not far away. Others left to join other churches. Much
of the leadership -- and much of the church's financial support -- disappeared.
Strader says he has no animosity, but Carpenter's Home and Victory Assembly
have few dealings with each other. The Rev. Terry Raburn, superintendent of the
Peninsular-Florida District of the Assemblies of God, characterizes the relationship
as "cordial in terms of Christian fellowship. That's about all I would
say." The Rev. Wayne Blackburn, pastor of Victory Assembly, did not return
calls requesting a comment for this story, although he has previously said he
knows of no difficulties between Strader and himself.
STRUGGLING BACK
Asked about the split now, Strader says it was simply a struggle for power,
with devastating effects. "It was like going through a divorce. You feel
tremendous rejection. You never get over it."
Stephen Strader says it was a vicious fight that
got personal and forced the family to turn to one another for support."It
nearly destroyed us. My wife and I lost every single friend we had outside the
family. It was extremely isolating."
Strader's opponents filed new charges of false
doctrine against him with the Assemblies of God district office, and shortly
after the split, district officials sent Strader a letter notifying him he was
being put on probation for 18 months. Strader threatened to leave the denomination.
District officials didn't forward the letter to the church's national offices,
so the probation was never put into effect. Although he was not present then,
Raburn says he is convinced looking over the records that it was a
misunderstanding. "It was a hasty action, taken in the midst of
difficulties. They realized the grounds were so shaky, they scrapped it, which
it well should have been." A second letter was sent to Strader within a
few months retracting the probation.
But Carpenter's Home continued to suffer from the
results of the split. Costs were cut, the church's radio station, WCIE-FM was
sold. Christian concerts and conferences kept the massive church afloat
financially. Strader insists it has never missed a monthly payment or a
payroll. In 1993, a revival under evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne produced a
flurry of activity, and it appeared the church was on its way back.
SON ARRESTED
Then, in 1994, the church was rocked
when Strader's son, Daniel, was arrested on charges he defrauded about 60 investors
of more than $2 million. Daniel, 43, is the second of Karl and Joyce Strader's
four children. In a recent interview at Hardee Correctional Institution 6 in
Bowling Green, he stressed his father was always a good example. "He had such a consistent life. We had traditional family dinners
at 5:30 sharp. From my earliest years, he was not just my father but my pastor.
Today it's hard to even separate those roles," he says. After college and
a stint in the church broadcasting department, Daniel Strader worked as an
insurance agent and Amway dealer and set up an investment firm, Interstate
Financial Services. He says he never felt pressured to imitate his father's
success. "I did feel I wanted to honor him by becoming successful, but Dad
was more concerned about motives and integrity," he says. Daniel Strader was arrested in May 1994 on charges of fraud, theft
and racketeering after his securities business ran into trouble. Prosecutors
accused him of running a pyramid scheme, in which money from new investors is
used to pay off previous investors. The Strader family has maintained Daniel
Strader is guilty of incompetence and bad judgment but had no criminal intent
to get rich by defrauding others. "When he was a boy, he never would have
taken a nickel off the dresser," Karl Strader says.
Daniel Strader says he avoided using his family's
name to gain clients and "less than a dozen, about a half of 1
percent" of the clients were members of Carpenter's Home. However, at his
trial, several investors said they thought they could trust him because of his
family's reputation. Daniel Strader was convicted in 1995 of 238 counts of
theft, securities fraud and racketeering. At a sentencing hearing, his father
came forward with an offer to repay the investors in hopes the sentence would
be reduced, but Judge Robert Doyel expressed skepticism about the plan and
sentenced Daniel Strader to 45 years in prison. Karl Strader says he is
convinced his fame motivated the State Attorney's Office to make a high-profile
case against his son, a sentiment echoed by Daniel. "Because of his
prominence, it may have caused the press and the prosecution to be overzealous.
He took it as a personal attack. He took it as any father would," Daniel
Strader says. He has filed several appeals for a new trial or a new sentence,
all of which have been denied, although another round of appeals is in the
works.
PERSEVERING
Karl and Joyce Strader visit Daniel about once a week. "I've admired the
way he's handled all this," says Daniel. "When he's down, I tell him
'It'll be OK.' But it's much more the reverse -- he's there for me. He feels
strongly I'll be vindicated eventually."
The stresses have had their effect on the Strader
family, however. In May,
Daniel Strader was notified that his wife, Melissa, filed for divorce.
"His home is all but broken. It's horrible," says his father.
"But there again, he's a better person. He's been a model prisoner. When
he gets out of there, he's going to be a very productive person. He's got 26
years to serve, which means I'll be about 106," he adds wryly. Strader says the experience with Daniel has
given him a greater empathy for prisoners. "All they want to do is put
them in jail and throw away the key. There's nothing to rehabilitate these
people. There's no way a man in prison can get justice unless he has
money," he says.
Today, Carpenter's Home Church has 13 pastors on
staff and averages 1,800 in attendance on Sunday mornings, still large by any
standard -- "in the top 5 percent of churches," says Stephen Strader
-- but it's a number that seems dwarfed in the large sanctuary. The church
still operates WTWB, a small AM radio station, and Evangel Christian School. Strader continues as president of the separate nonprofit
corporation that operates Carpenter's Home Estates retirement facility. ( THIS IS WHERE IS STEALS MONEY FROM IN MANAGEMENT FEES!)
In spite of the setbacks, Strader's legacy seems
assured. And his family will carry on his work. The Carpenter's Home board has
decided if anything should happen to Strader, the senior assistant pastor --
Stephen Strader, who is 45 -- would be appointed to a one-year term and
re-evaluated after that. But Karl Strader doesn't sound like a man anticipating
the end of his career. He runs through a list of the church's programs and points
to the missionaries and ministers the church has produced. He says he is proud
of the fact that the church counts as its members people of all races and
social stations.
In conversation with Strader or his supporters, the
word "integrity" comes up frequently. He clearly wants to emphasize
that, unlike other famous Pentecostal preachers who fell from grace, such as
Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, his personal morality has never been questioned.
"I don't know a finer man in shoe leather than Karl Strader," says
Reggie Scarborough of Family Worship Center. "He's a man of love who
walked in love with people."
Asked if the events of the past 12 years have been
discouraging, Karl Strader replies: "Sure. But I was born during the
Depression, in the Dust Bowl. The Lord has prepared me for it. I will not allow
bitterness to come into my heart. I'm committed to my family and to the
community. God is going to see us through this."
Cary Mcmullen can be reached at cary.mcmullen@theledger.com or
863-802-7509.
