TAMPA - Without Walls International Church says it will give a home to a young mother who never received the grand prize in a church giveaway five years ago.

It also says pastor Randy White has "arranged and paid for" an attorney for an elderly member who says she was never repaid a $170,000 loan to White and his wife, pastor Paula White.

The statement, published Thursday in the Tribune's editorial pages, came in response to three news stories and an editorial about the problems involving LaShonda Dupree, the contest winner, and Ruth McGinnis, the widow, among other matters.

The church statement from the board of directors, issued through the Tucker/Hall public relations firm, agreed that Dupree's situation is unfortunate. It said the church is working toward a happy ending.

Dupree said Wednesday she was contacted by someone from the church after the May 25 story about the contest. She was told the church would give her a house, and that she must pay insurance and taxes. She was given a list of homes to look at in the Brandon area.

She won't believe the deal is done, though, until she has a deed to the property and "keys in my hand," she said.

Efforts to contact her Thursday were unsuccessful.

No House For Winner

In November 2002, the 20-year-old single mother of three became a finalist in the contest called "Home For The Holidays."

She won the top prize during a highly publicized service repeatedly aired as part of a ministry fundraiser on the Christian Television Network. Teary and jubilant on stage, Dupree said in May that she thought she'd won a new, $100,000 house in Temple Terrace. Other winners received a used car, a year of paid utilities, $5,000 in new furniture or a $500 gift certificate for groceries.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Paula White took Dupree and her three young children on a tour of the home, asking the little girls to choose their bedrooms.

Dupree never received the house.

The prize was to be a down payment, which Dupree knew. The church knew, though, that she didn't prequalify for the mortgage, she said. So when she won, she thought the house had been purchased for her.

She said the church used her story to bring in donations.

Today, she lives with her four children in a Brandon rental home.

"€¦ Because this entire incident ended badly, embarrassing both LaShonda and the church, the Revs. White along with the board of directors of Without Walls International Church have now authorized the purchase of a home for LaShonda and her children," the church's statement said, "and we will begin the process of working with her to find a suitable residence."

'We Hold No Grudge'

The financial issues involving McGinnis were the result of confusion, not malice, the statement said.

In 1995, McGinnis, now 85, lent the Whites $170,000 toward a $650,000 home in Lutz. As part of the agreement, the Whites signed a contract promising to have McGinnis live with them as a family member for the rest of her life. A promissory note outlined terms for repaying the loan. McGinnis showed the Tribune the documents, along with original receipts involving the transaction.

In May, McGinnis told the Tribune that the Whites reneged on their deal within four years and she moved back to her south Tampa home. She said she seldom saw the couple, except on holidays, special occasions and at church services. They'd repaid only $2,000 of the loan. The Whites sold the house in 2006 for $1 million.

McGinnis said Thursday she no longer wants to comment on her financial arrangement with the Whites. "We hold no grudge against each other," she said.

"Because it appears that Mother Ruth has lost the documents and perhaps has forgotten the financial arrangements that were put in place, Bishop Randy has arranged and paid for Mother Ruth to have her own attorneys review the arrangements with her and ensure that she will continue to have the peace of mind over her finances," the statement said.

The revelations about Without Walls, which collects $40 million a year in revenue and is one of the nation's largest independent churches, have piqued interest nationally. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, one of the oldest and largest U.S. Christian publications, commented on it in an online column titled "There's Trouble in Tampa Bay."

Grady wrote June 8 that he felt a "bit woozy" after learning about "yet another potential scandal" among independent charismatic ministries. The magazine is studying the situation, he wrote. Coincidentally, Paula White appears on this month's cover.

"I hope we discover that the charges are baseless because the body of Christ has endured enough disgrace in the last year," he wrote online.

Paula White told Grady that she has been advised not to make an official statement. She said, "Mother Ruth continues to sit on the front row and LaShonda continues to come to church every Sunday."

Dupree said Wednesday she has been to the church only occasionally in recent years; she attended a Sunday service two weeks ago with her parents, who remain members.

The Without Walls statement was issued by the church's board of directors: Randy and Paula White, Norva Carrington of Tampa, Zachary Timms of Heathrow, and Alec Clarke of Acton, Calif.

The Whites and Jeff Tucker of Tucker/Hall did not respond for comment Thursday evening. The church statement said Without Walls and the Whites "will have nothing more to say about these matters."

Full story: Without Walls Church Addresses Disputes

ATLANTA - From the moment Paula White steps into the World Congress Center, she's on: camera-ready makeup, designer suit, black stilettos and pocketfuls of pithy sound bites.

In town to promote her forthcoming book at the International Christian Retail Show last week, White meets no strangers. She introduces herself to gawkers, cameramen, interviewers and fans with hugs, including a waiter who passes along his admiration as he serves her lunch.

As host of the "Paula White Today" show, White broadcasts to millions of homes a day. An author, she also is a life coach on "The Tyra Banks Show" and hobnobs with celebrities. Her 22,000-member Tampa church, Without Walls, has been dubbed one of the fastest-growing churches in America. In Lakeland, Without Walls International purchased Carpenter's Home church and now has a satellite church at that location, Without Walls Central.

White will cross another milestone today when she opens a center in Manhattan to host life-coaching seminars.

But as White enjoys a meteoric rise to the top of Christian evangelism, she must juggle mounting concerns at home.

In the last few months, Without Walls, which White leads with her husband, Randy, has been embroiled in controversy over allegations of a lack of integrity and questionable business dealings.

The accusations, brought to light by the media, former church members and disgruntled former employees, touched off a maelstrom of debate about Without Walls and its leaders.

While the Whites have been reticent, their supporters and detractors square off on Internet blogs and message boards. The church's board of directors eventually issued a statement trying to bat down the allegations.

"Everything she does is a total act," said Ole Anthony, president of the Trinity Foundation, a Dallas nonprofit watchdog group that monitors televangelists. "... She's on this ride now that's just going hot guns and big celebrity, and she's going to fail miserably because the things that they're doing are so outlandish," noting her lavish lifestyle.

In keeping with her teachings that trials and tribulations make Christians strong, White responds in an e-mail to the Times: "My focus is the assignment and work of ministry that we have always done and continue to do with the fruit of that good work reflected across the nation and all over the world."

Demerits into merits

As she sits with interviewers at the retail show July 9, White captivates them with the story of her troubled youth involving abuse, neglect and low self-esteem.

As White tells it, she was born Paula Michelle Furr in Tupelo, Miss. In her 1998 semiautobiography, she details an early life of country clubs and privilege. Her parents' marriage, she said, began to unravel when she was 5, with her mother fleeing to Memphis.

Her father followed with an ultimatum: Give him Paula or he would kill himself. White's mother refused, and later that night Donald Furr wrapped his car around a tree, ending his life, White says.

Her mother, Myra Joanelle Furr, sought refuge in alcohol. While Furr worked, White was looked after by caregivers, whom she said sexually and physically abused her for seven years.

White says she found God when she was 18 and living in Maryland. A stranger saw that she was broken and offered her the Christian plan of salvation.

At the time, White was a new mother to a baby she had out of wedlock. She had a brief marriage with the baby's father, a member of a rock band. Eventually, she wound up at a local church sweeping floors and teaching Sunday school. That's where she met a young visiting preacher. Randy White was pudgy and not her type, she says, but the two grew in love and married in 1990.

Some church members frowned upon the relationship, surmising that Randy, who came from five generations of preachers, should find a more suitable bride.

The couple moved to Tampa in 1990 and soon after started South Tampa Christian Center. They renamed it Without Walls in 1997 and set about building one of the fastest-growing congregations in the nation.

It wasn't long before White's popularity began to eclipse her husband's. Though they lead the church together, she is sought after and travels around the country preaching.

"Clearly, they have branded her," said Scott Thumma, professor of religion and sociology at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in Connecticut. "Her look, her products. They're branding her face, her style, and it resonates in a lot of ways with folks."

Obscurity to stardom

White says she received a vision of her future as a preacher shortly after her salvation. Her career got a megaboost when she met Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of the Dallas megachurch, the Potter's House.

Jakes, who is black, helped catapult White to superstardom - particularly among black women - when he invited her to speak at his Woman Thou Art Loosed Conference in 2000. She launched her television ministry a year later.

Today, White is one of the most popular preachers on Black Entertainment Television and appears on several other networks including Spike TV and Trinity Broadcasting.

Her folksy, down-home delivery ranges from that of reserved theological teacher to charismatic, foot-stomping, finger-pointing preacher fluent in the call-and-response worship style of the traditional black church.

On a recent Sunday at Without Walls, White preached from John 2, where Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding.

"Slap somebody right upside their weave and say 'Get in the Flow,' " White told the audience, her voice rising as she introduced her sermon title. "Are you ready? Somebody say 'Bring it on. Bring it on.' "

Tonya Jones was mesmerized.

"She speaks to me," said Jones, 39, a Tampa homemaker. "I like the way she brings the message in a way that I can understand."

White also has been dubbed a prosperity preacher, a proponent of the "name-it and claim-it" gospel, which purports that people can receive financial, emotional and spiritual blessings if they donate. That message and her penchant for designer clothing and flashy cars have added to the cacophony of criticism.

White drives a Mercedes-Benz and flies around the country in a private jet. She lives in a $2.1 million mansion on Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard and has a Fifth Avenue condo in Trump Tower in New York City.

The ministries took in $39.9 million in 2006, according to an audit of Without Walls and Paula White Ministries released in June by an independent Clearwater accounting firm. About $28.6 million helped promote the church's programs, conferences and outreach efforts, the audit said. Other expenses covered management and fundraising.

White's salary was not detailed, but her publicist says she has multiple streams of income outside the ministry. She donates to causes and individuals both inside and outside of Without Walls, her publicist said.

At the Christian retail show, for example, White told one of her assistants to send gospel artist CeCe Winans "another check" for her planned conference for girls. Winans beamed. White said she already had given the effort $25,000.

And for his 50th birthday in June, White sent Jakes a black convertible Bentley. It was intended to be quiet gift, White said, but an overzealous member of Jakes' ministry shouted out the news at the retail show.

"Some people thought 'Why would you do that?' " White later explained, saying that Jakes is her spiritual father. "I thought, 'Well, why wouldn't I?' That's not even an option."

Overwhelmed

For all of her successes, White still describes herself as the messed-up Mississippi girl whose life God turned around. At times, she appears enchanted by her own stature.

White insists she has a message to give a public that is eager to receive.

"The key is balance. But I do what I do because, quite honestly, I am committed to our mission to transform lives, heal hearts and win souls."

Full story: Church Star Has Mounting Concerns

TAMPA - As a team, pastors Randy and Paula White attracted tens of thousands to Without Walls International Church. But behind the picture perfect image, the couple's 18-year marriage was in trouble.

At Thursday night's service, they announced plans to divorce. Both have been divorced before.

"I believe the leadership establishes some principles when it comes to fidelity and marriage, and when it comes to the fiber of a family," says Pastor Donald Lott of True Worship Christian Center in Temple Terrace.

Lott is familiar with the church, and both pastors. He has family who attend Without Walls.

"By all means, a pastor should at all times be able to recognize when he is in crisis and his hope is in the word of God, and should all be able to rise above our circumstances in situations such as this," Lott said

Randy and Paula White built their multi-million dollar evangelical empire by offering what they called "the perfect church, for those who aren't." That message catapulted Paula White to international stardom as a televangelist and author. Her husband has been less high profile, mostly leading the church at home.

The couple shares a $2 million dollar home on Bayshore Boulevard, along with a private jet. Some say the pastors have been spending more time apart as they buy property and pursue ministries elsewhere. Paula White owns a Trump Towers condo in New York City and a home in San Antonio. Randy White is reportedly leasing property in Malibu.

"The scripture says the love of money is the root of all evil, and you have to evaluate your priorities," Pastor Lott says. "And without us knowing what their priorities are, I would hope they'd be on the Kingdom."

But with their lavish lifestyle on display, critics say what the Whites were preaching was a message of prosperity at the expense of humility and family values.

Now with its leadership split, the church faces its own test of survival.

Full story: Randy and Paula White: Divorce shakes evangelical empire

TAMPA — Megachurch pastors Randy and Paula White stood before their congregation Thursday night and made the announcement that many in their flock feared had been coming for months.

They are divorcing.

"It is the most difficult decision that I have had to make in my entire life," said the Rev. Randy White, 49. "I take full responsibility for a failed marriage -100 percent. I don't blame Paula, and I don't blame other parties. But as the man of the house, I take full responsibility for that."

He praised his wife, calling her an exceptional woman and a great preacher and wife.

Standing by his side and appearing to fight back tears, the Rev. Paula White called the decision to divorce "one of the most painful of our lives."

"But God always comes to you in the dark places of life," White said, standing beside her husband in the pulpit.

White, 41, also offered a note of optimism.

"It's not the end of the story for Randy or Paula or maybe even Randy and Paula," she said.

The couple, who have both been married and divorced before, did not say what caused their breakup. They also did not detail if they had filed for divorce. They have grown children from previous relationships but none together.

Word about trouble in the couple's marriage has circulated for months. The Whites' disparate ministry paths have fueled much of the concern. Randy White, a bishop at Without Walls International Church, has been spending time in Malibu, Calif., in hopes of establishing a ministry on the West Coast. Paula White, the church's senior pastor and a sought-after televangelist, keeps an apartment in New York City, where she recently opened a new ministry and self-help center in July.

The couple, arguably the most prominent evangelical partners in the state, said they made their announcement at Thursday night's service to tell their church "family" before word of their separation appears in the local and national media.

The Whites' split calls into question the future of the 22,000 member megachurch, which the couple founded as South Tampa Christian Center in 1991. During their announcement, which came just before the sermon, the Whites sought to put those concerns to rest.

Randy White said he would continue to lead Without Walls and would focus on being a "great pastor" and a "great dad."

Paula White said she would also continue to preach at Without Walls when invited by her husband. She also said Paula White Ministries would continue to be based in Tampa.

Several hundred Without Walls members were in the audience for the announcement. As the Whites spoke, some people in the crowd cried. Others appeared stunned, noticeable by the audible gasps in the cavernous sanctuary.

Warming herself outside the church, one woman said "God knows best," before being told by another member to avoid talking to the media. At least one Without Walls member said the church was hurting and lashed out at a reporter for being on site to witness the announcement.

The church broadcasts its services via the Internet at www.streamingfaith.com. But last night's announcement was not aired. The video of the broadcast was interrupted without explanation and resumed after the announcement.

Inside the church, the preacher for the evening, the Rev. Tim Storey, sought to offer direction to a stunned congregation.

"How many of you feel sorrow tonight," Storey asked the crowd.

Hands shot up around the sanctuary.

"We should. But God is still good."

Sidebar: Without Walls International Church

Origin
Started as a storefront church in 1991 as South Tampa Christian Center.

Renamed
Without Walls International Church in 1997 and moved into an old Canada Dry factory near Raymond James Stadium.

Size
Has more than 22,000 members and more than 200 outreach ministries.

Demographics
Predominantly African-American. But prides itself on being the "Vegetable Soup Church" with people from a variety of ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Income
$39.9-million in 2006; $28-million in 2005. Figures represent combined income from Without Walls and Paula White
Ministries.

Source: Without Walls by Randy White; 2006 Independent Audit by Lewis, Birch & Ricardo, LLC

Full story: Megachurch founding pastors Randy and Paula White to seek divorce

TAMPA - Days after its founders announced they plan to divorce, Without Walls International Church got back to business Sunday.

The 9 a.m. service drew about 1,000 people - a typical crowd for the early service during summer months. After a typically high-energy service, few members wanted to talk about the impending split between Randy and Paula White, though.

One woman who did speak after the service, Katrina Singleton, 35, of Brandon, said the couple's separation might affect the church. Some members tend to follow Randy, while others follow Paula, she said.

"I was really surprised," Singleton said.

After a rare joint appearance Thursday night, when the co-founders delivered the news to a stunned congregation, Randy White returned to the pulpit alone, as expected. White told the Tribune last week that his wife had returned to New York Friday morning, after they made their announcement.

That wasn't unusual. In the past year, as her own ministry has evolved, Paula White's appearances at the North Grady Avenue church have become sporadic.

No mention was made of Thursday's announcement at the 9 a.m. service, where White preached for a few minutes before turning over the pulpit to Ralph Messer, a Messianic rabbi from Denver who teaches about the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith.

Messer preached about the Torah and Jewish entrepreneurship and spoke again at the 11 a.m. service, where he led the congregation in a prayer that ended emotionally for White.

"I declare today that my bishop has entered into a new season, a new season, a new season," Messer intoned, prompting White's followers. "Now, give him glory. Praise God."

As emotions in the sanctuary reached a high point, Messer hugged White, telling him, "I love you. I love you so much." White, a prayer shawl draped over his shoulders, stood clutching a Torah scroll, head bowed, with a pained expression on his face.

Then White made his way to the podium, as his congregation cheered, buried his face in a black cloth and appeared to sob. Shortly after receiving a supportive hug from Messer, White appeared to crumble completely. His shoulders sagged, and he laid his head on his arm at the podium and gave way to even deeper sobbing. Eventually, Messer and a host of black-suited ministers gathered, laid their hands on White and formed a tight prayer circle around him.

On the video monitor behind White, the words "international church" appeared to hover over White's prostrate body, as though he were carrying them on his back.

Intended or not, the symbolism may prove prophetic.

In his interview with the Tribune last week, White said he plans to resume his role as the church's senior pastor and that he has put on hold plans to start another church in Malibu, Calif.

The Whites founded Without Walls in 1991 as the South Tampa Christian Center. Since then, the church has become one of the nation's biggest and fastest-growing churches, boasting 23,000 members and nearly $40 million in revenues last year.

The Whites, who've been married nearly 18 years, said last week that the split is amicable and comes after visits to counselors over several years.

They blame two lives going in different directions.

Now, they will have to find a way to separate their interests without damaging the church they built.

Those logging on to Without Walls' Web site Sunday to watch services saw no signs of a separation. The site continues to display a picture of the Whites together and to promote Paula White Ministries, which contributes between $50,000 and $80,000 a week to the church, Randy White said last week.

White said his wife would come back as a guest speaker and continue supporting the church for a while.

She will have bases in New York, and San Antonio, Texas, where she has homes, and in California. White said he would remain in the couple's Bayshore Boulevard home.

The couple, who are using the same law firm for their divorce, plan to file as soon as they can work out the details of dividing their assets, Randy White said. That could happen as early as this week, he said.

Reporters Michelle Bearden and Jason Geary contributed to this report.

Full story: Randy White Makes Emotional Return To Without Walls Pulpit

Hours after the Revs. Randy and Paula White announced their impending divorce last week, Christians began discussing how the evangelical power couple had come undone.

It had, in fact, been a tough week for televangelist couples.

The day before the White's revelation, Atlanta Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III alledgedly assaulted his estranged wife, evangelist Juanita Bynum, in a hotel parking lot. The couple had met to discuss reconciliation. But it turned violent when Weeks choked, kicked and threatened to kill his wife, police said.

Both couples' histrionics - the Whites made their announcement from the pulpit of their Tampa church Aug. 23 - rocked the evangelical world and left many tongues wagging about the state of clerical marriage and the ability of divorced clerics to minister. In both relationships, each of the ministers had been divorced before.

"The clergy is supposed to be setting an example for the other lay families," said Adair T. Lummis, a faculty associate at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. "It looks strange to people."

At Without Walls International Church, the Whites' megaministry, Randy White told members that he expected some in the congregation to leave because of their divorce. Indeed, a small exodus appears to have begun. But plenty of the church's 22,000 members say they will continue to support their pastors.

"From my understanding, they've been through counseling for quite a long period of time, and if things don't work, they just don't work," said member Stewart Yoder, 45. "We have to forgive. ... My heart breaks, but God knows what is best."

Patty Gray, a seven-year Without Walls member, says her support of the Whites won't waiver.

"You don't just run out on people," said Gray, a divorcee who recently remarried. "You support them to the end. ... They're great people, but we have to remember they're human as well."

Differing views

Biblical scholars have long disagreed about divorce, with each side pointing to conflicting scriptural passages that seem to forbid or show compassion toward divorce. Most agree that the Bible allows for divorce in cases of adultery or violence, but agreement seems to end there.

Some conservatives call divorce a sin, saying it should disqualify pastors from preaching and offering services such as marital counseling. That stance harks to a time in some Christian denominations where clerics who divorced were removed from their pulpits and, in some cases, put out of churches.

But even the strictest of conservatives hold that such a lack of compassion is unnecessary in today's church.

"Pastors have to be allowed to be human," said Glenn Stanton, the director of research for family formation studies at Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization in Colorado. "But on issues of divorce, we stand with God with this in that he states very clearly in Malachi, 'I hate divorce.'"

More liberal Christians hold that divorce no longer has the stigma it once did.

"As divorce has become more pervasive in our society, I think it's less and less of a liability for a minister to have been divorced," said John P. Bartkowski, a sociology professor at Mississippi State University who has studied divorce and Christianity. "Pastors are given, if not a complete pass, more leeway when there's not an extramarital affair involved."

Divorce more common

The public's softening stance on divorce may reflect the reality in the pews. A 2004 study by the Barna Group showed that the number of divorced Christians mirrors the rate of non-Christian divorcees.

Still, consensus on the issue of ministering after divorce remains afar off. Among conservative ministers, reaction to the White's divorce has been mixed.

The Rev. T.L. Lowery, a longtime leader in the Church of God based in Cleveland, Tenn., who has served as a mentor to the Whites since the early days of their ministry, said their announcement grieves his heart. But he also said God provides forgiveness.

"While we do not support divorce, we still love Randy and Paula very deeply," said Lowery in a statement. "We are committed to provide them with personal love and spiritual guidance according to the word of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit."

Despite split views on ministering after divorce, separated clerics can look to several pastors who have been able to sustain and grow their ministries after their marriages ended. Some even are able to use the experience to connect with followers.

It's a notion that White, who has long preached about her troubled childhood, and Bynum, who made a name for herself by offering her seemingly charmed Christian life as an example of redemption after being sexually promiscuous, might consider.

"They could say, 'Look I've failed,'" Lummis said. "I'm going to be much more sensitive to what you're going through and would be able to give you better advice than someone who's been happily married."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Other cases: Televangelists divorced, still ministering

At one time, divorce among clerics meant the instant demise of a pastoral career. But across denominational lines, the reaction toward clerical divorce seems to be softening.

Jim Bakker - Former head of PTL ministries. Marriage to Tammy Faye ended in 1992. Remarried.

John Hagee - Pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. First marriage ended in 1975. Remarried the next year.

Noel Jones - Pastor, City of Refuge Church near Los Angeles. Divorced in early 1990s. Single.

Clarence McClendon - Senior pastor of Full Harvest International Church, Southern California. Divorced wife of 16 years in 2000. Remarried.

Joyce Meyer - Leads Joyce Meyer Ministries. Divorced first husband in 1966. Remarried in 1967.

Robert A. Schuller - Senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries in Southern California. Divorced in 1984. Remarried that same year.

Charles Stanley - Senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta. Marriage ended in 2000 after 44 years. Single.

Robert Tilton - Former head of the Word of Faith World Outreach Center Church. Twice divorced. Remarried.

Sources: Times archives and wires

Full story: For pastors, divorce’s stain fades

Sanctuary Faces Closure

TAMPA - The future of Without Walls International Church is in question now that a credit union wants to foreclose on the megaministry.

The church defaulted on a $1 million loan due in August, prompting the California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union to file foreclosure proceedings Tuesday.

The filing also includes a $12 million loan made in December 2003, when Without Walls was looking to expand its ministry headquartered at 2511 N. Grady Ave. On Thursday, the credit union initiated a similar foreclosure proceeding involving two additional loans for the church's branch in Lakeland. The credit union declined to release details of those loans.

Without Walls issued a statement Thursday that said it has done its best to meet ministerial goals and financial obligations in the wake of the economic downturn and adverse publicity.
[...]

Touted in 2004 by Church Growth Today as the nation's second fastest-growing Christian congregation, the ministry took in as much as $40 million a year. But it has faced many hurdles in the past couple years. Among them: an ongoing U.S. Senate inquiry into its finances; the divorce of cofounders Randy and Paula White; and a dramatic drop in attendance.

For months, there have been signs of financial struggles at Without Walls.

In August, the church's controller resigned citing serious concerns, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by The Tampa Tribune.

Church accountant Camillo Gargano wrote in the Aug. 28 letter that the ministry was in "turmoil."

"Handling of finances by upper management is contrary with my fiduciary responsibility," it states.

Management didn't seem bothered by the financial problems, and used "bullying, excessive force and verbal abuse as a management style," Gargano wrote.

"Not only is it unconscionable for me to work in such a hostile environment, but it is also physically and mentally debilitating to work under such stressful circumstances," he wrote.

Gargano said he later submitted a second, less-critical letter at the request of church staffers.

He resigned after Randy White ordered him to pay White's $24,000 American Express bill, even though it would mean the ministry couldn't make payroll for the week, Gargano said in a September interview.

Part of the credit card bill was a $13,000 payment for mirrors installed in the church. The rest included personal expenses that White told Gargano he would pay back to the ministry, the controller said.

White sent text messages to Gargano insisting he pay the credit card bill. Gargano saved the messages.

Gargano, who attended church elsewhere, said during his 17 months employed there he constantly scrambled to find money to pay salaries and bills, and that little or no money went for ministerial work.
[...]

La Tour said it's "extremely rare" for his lending organization to initiate foreclosure proceedings. He said it has happened less than 10 times in the organization's 44-year history. The credit union provides financing for churches, Christian schools, other evangelical ministries, and missionaries in more than 100 countries.
[...]

In its statement Thursday, Without Walls said it will continue to hold services and activities as usual.

• The Tampa Tribune's special report, Without Walls Church: Of Faith, Fame And Fortune, includes past converage of the church. One story, on the then pending divorce of the church's founders, includes comments by Without Walls church board member Alick Clarke of Acton, Calif., a longtime friend:

An Australian-born businessman, Clarke said he's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the church since it was founded by the Whites in 1991 as the South Tampa Christian Center.

He partially blamed the couple's breakup on their devotion to preaching a prosperity message, exhorting followers to give more money to the church in order to be blessed with greater wealth.

'Too many ministries have become big business. That message is desecrating the church today,' said Clarke, adding that he was disturbed to learn that with revenue at $40 million last year, the church was $22 million in debt.

Full story: Financial Walls Closing In On Without Walls International Church

Without Walls pastor vows to fight foreclosure threat

TAMPA — In a service notable for its unusual content, the Rev. Randy White, pastor of Without Walls International Church, laid bare the church's financial situation Sunday and its bid to stave off foreclosure of its two campuses.

White told his congregation, once one of the fastest-growing churches in the country, that church leaders would continue trying to negotiate with its lender this week. If those talks fail, they will consider several options, including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, refinancing or selling the church.

The preacher pledged not to run and asked members to stand with him as he fights.

"I'll be damned if I'm leaving," White said. "I promise you this: I will handcuff myself to that column right there because right is right and wrong is wrong. We are a great church, and the devil has tried to take us out every single way that he can."

Last week, the St. Petersburg Times reported that the California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union filed foreclosure proceedings against Without Walls, which owes $13-million for its Tampa property and $12.5-million on its Lakeland branch.

The two parties had been negotiating on the terms of the Tampa mortgage for months. But talks broke off recently when White's lawyers urged him not to sign a loan modification agreement that included stipulations requiring the church to relinquish ownership of its assets, including intellectual property.

In court documents, the credit union said Without Walls was in default on a $1-million line of credit that was due in August. White disputes that claim, and said the church had made arrangements to repay the line of credit from the sale of a $1.4-million piece of property at its Lakeland site.

Like an attorney building a case, White provided documentation Sunday that detailed talks with the credit union. He placed copies of those documents, along with his credit card and personal giving statements, on a table beneath the altar. He invited the congregation and the media to peruse them.

In his 90-minute sermon, White devoted 30 minutes to talk of the foreclosure proceedings. He spent an hour rebutting a series of articles written by the Tampa Tribune about the church over an 18-month period. White said the coverage had cost the church and its affiliates, which include Paula White Ministries, millions of dollars.

Jeff Scullin, Sunday editor at the Tribune, said the newspaper had no comment on White's remarks.

Without Walls pastor speaks out

Tampa, Fla. - A local pastor spent two hours making the case to his congregation. Pastor Randy White addressed members of Without Walls Evangelical Church about allegations that two of its properties are up for foreclosure.
[...]

"The bank has filed foreclosure proceedings on this property on the 4th and they said that on the 5th they were gonna file in Lakeland," said Pastor White.

However, he says there's no reason to foreclose on the properties because they've already sold the land in Lakeland and $1.4 million from that sale will go to the California-based bank within thirty days.

"This church has never been late in seven and a half years. In fact, we gave them more money than any client they had," he told the congregation.

He says the only reason the bank is filing foreclosure is that he refused to sign a modification agreement that gave all property, furnishings and intellectual rights to the bank.

"The board, of course, and the attorneys, five attorneys, all said do not sign the modification agreement," he explained.

In addition, the pastor announced that he has begun the groundwork to file a lawsuit against the Tamp Tribune.

"We probably lost thirty percent of our church because of those adverse stories," he said.

The Tampa Tribune had no comment.

The articles alleged that the pastor was inappropriately spending church dollars on personal expenses.

"God's blessed me and because he's been good to me, I was able to give this church since August almost $500,000. You know, even for someone who's wealthy, it takes a big hit on you," he said.

Full story: Without Walls pastor vows to fight foreclosure threat; may sue newspaper

Pastor Hails Without Walls Foreclosure Deal

Without Walls International Church escaped the specter of foreclosure after its lender agreed to drop demands for control of its books, tapes and other intellectual property, Pastor Randy White said today.

March 2008 NBC Report on Without Walls International Church

White, the church's founder, told his congregation during this morning's service that the California-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union had agreed to a modified loan agreement Wednesday that took the church out of foreclosure.

The church defaulted on a $1 million loan due in August, prompting the credit union to begin foreclosure proceedings in November.

The foreclosure proceedings included another $24.5 million in loans for the Tampa ministry, headquartered at 2511 N. Grady Ave., and its Lakeland branch.
[...]

At a press conference after the service, White said attorneys had been negotiating since the lender announced the foreclosure but met a logjam on the credit union's insistence the church give up rights to its intellectual property including its name, all tapes and books.

The church's attorneys told him not to agree to the demand, White said.

"That's your birthright," he said.

The restructured agreement also calls for interest-only payments and no penalties, White told reporters.

The credit union announced the modified loan agreement last week but disclosed few details.
[...]

The church last week hired back three of seven employees laid off about two months ago, White said today. The seven people who lost their jobs make up about a quarter of the church's staff.

He also said that the church had hired a Beverly Hills lawyer to explore a lawsuit against The Tampa Tribune.

From the pulpit and in statements, White has blamed critics and the credit union for trying to bring down the church.
[...]

• Without Walls Church: Of Faith, Fame And Fortune -- The Tampa Tribune Special Report
• More articles about Without Walls International Church

Full story: Without Walls International Church escapes foreclosure

Randy Alan White, who helped found the Without Walls International Church that later came under federal scrutiny for its ostentatious spending, was arrested and charged Saturday night with driving under the influence, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

Tampa police stopped White, 53, around 11:30 p.m. near Ashley Drive and Interstate 275. Police recorded his blood-alcohol level at 0.093 and 0.095 percent, records show. Florida law presumes a driver impaired at 0.08 percent.

The Tampa Tribune says:

White, 53, who cultivated a bad-boy image while he and ex-wife Paula White built Without Walls into a multimillion-dollar ministry, was arrested about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at the Ashley Drive exit ramp of southbound Interstate 275, according to Hillsborough County Jail records.

Released after posting $500 bail Sunday morning, White could not be reached for comment. [...]

Without Walls was once one of the fastest-growing Christian ministries in the country and allowed the Whites to enjoy a lavish lifestyle, expensive cars and homes.

But Randy White struggled to keep the church growing after he and Paula announced they were divorcing in 2007 and she left to focus on her own ministry.

In July 2009, White stepped away from the church and welcomed back his ex-wife as its senior pastor, saying he needed a change after experiencing stress-related health problems.

It's unclear what role Randy White plays in the church. The church's most recent annual report to the Florida Secretary of State's office, filed in April, lists him as the registered agent for Without Walls and as one of its directors.

Full story: Randy White, former pastor at embattled Without Walls, charged with DUI