Description: The United States is plagued with economic, political, geo-political, and social problems. As a nation, we are morally bankrupt and at risk of losing the battle for our culture. We need to wake up before it is too late! Movie Info:Rating: Genre: Documentary Year: 2012 Length: 64 min. Cast: Dove Foundation Movie Review:Movie Not Reviewed By The Dove Foundation. | |
war room
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
My Classic Movie Pick: The Bishop’s Wife, for the Christmas Movie Blogathon - Blogs - The Daily Guide - Waynesville, MO
My Classic Movie Pick: The Bishop’s Wife, for the Christmas Movie Blogathon - Blogs - The Daily Guide - Waynesville, MO
Read more: http://www.waynesvilledailyguide.com/article/20131221/BLOGS/312219989/196/features#ixzz2o8YX7jh5
2013 11:17 a.m.
I was honored when Family Friendly Reviews asked me to participate in their first blogathon, focusing on Christmas Movies. Immediately I knew I’d write about one of my favorites, The Bishop’s Wife. Produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Henry Koster, and made in 1947, the film resonated so much with audiences that besides doing extremely well at the box office it was a Best Picture nominee at that year’s Academy Awards. The talented cast included Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Gladys Cooper, Monty Woolley, James Gleason, Elsa Lanchester, and Karolyn Grimes. 
David Niven portrays Bishop Henry Brougham and Loretta Young is his wife, Julia. They have an 8 year old daughter, Debbie(Karolyn Grimes, who also played Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life) and they live in a huge house with a cook and a maid, Matilda(Elsa Lanchester), and the Bishop also has a secretary, Miss Cassaway(Sara Haden.) Life would appear to be simple and easy for the Bishop and his wife, but that isn’t the case at all.It’s Christmas time as the film opens and we see a winter’s evening settling in over a large city. The city isn’t identified but as large as it is in the opening flyover shot, I assumed it to be New York City. We see excited and smiling children admiring the department store windows decorated with moveable characters, acting out little scenes of elves building toys in Santa’s workshop. Watching all of this happiness is one lone man, smartly dressed, who quietly assumes a watchful eye. He helps a blind man cross a busy street, cars suddenly braking to a stop as if an unseen force caused the braking. We see this same man stop a runaway baby buggy and then hand the infant over to her grateful mother. Then as this man is about to stroll away, he notices Julia, the Bishop’ s wife, looking longingly at a hat in a store window.
Julia moves on from the store window and runs into Professor Wutheridge(Monty Woolley) at the florist’s store where she is going to buy the Christmas tree for the Bishop’s house. ( She orders a huge tree, to be delivered, for $1.85!!!! Oh those 1947 prices!!) The Professor admits that he misses seeing Julia and Henry since Henry’s promotion from being the head minister at St. Timothy’s, which is now in danger of being shuttered. Julia agrees that she misses the Professor, the old neighborhood, and she is sad about St. Timothy’s. The Professor knows about Henry needing to raise money for the building of a cathedral and despite being a non-religious man, he gives Julia an old Roman coin, and asks her to give it to Henry, to put it towards the cathedral. This offering touches Julia and she tears up in spite of herself.
When Julia arrives home, she has just missed another meeting with Mrs. Hamilton(Gladys Cooper) and the cathedral committee. What she missed was Mrs. Hamilton scolding Henry about his “fuzzy-thinking” and the doubts Mrs. Hamiton has that Henry is the right man for the job. Mrs. Hamilton’s bossy, irritable mood has rubbed off on Henry and he chastises Julia for missing the meeting and he scoffs at the coin from the Professor. Julia and Henry sit down to an unhappy, tense dinner and Henry tries to make amends with the suggestion that he and Julia actually have a date for lunch the next day. Julia’s face lights up at this plan, only to have their date shattered with a phone call from Mr. Travers, to remind Henry about a meeting that will conflict with the date and cannot be gotten out of. With the date cancelled, Julia goes upstairs and Henry goes back to his study and looks intently at the painting of a cathdral that is above the fireplace mantle. He prays aloud to God for guidance and hears the door to his study open and close. He turns to see who is there and no one is there. As he looks back at the painting, it seems to be lit up and a man is suddenly in the room with him. It is the smartly dressed man we saw in the film’s opening, the good samaritan who was helping people. The man introduces himself as Dudley(Cary Grant), and he tells Henry that he is an angel, sent by God, to give Henry the help he’s prayed for! Henry is at first, very skeptical that this man is an angel and he demands that Dudley perform a miracle right then and there, perhaps to build the cathedral with the wave of his hand. Dudley chuckles at Henry’s challenge and informs Henry that he will help Henry reach his goals until Henry utters a prayer saying he doesn’t need Dudley’s help anymore and Dudley will then leave and no one will remember him having been among them.
Dudley, himself, has a conflict. He is falling in love with Julia, and Henry has an inkling that this is happening. All the ladies in the Bishop’s household: daughter Debbie, Miss Cassaway, Matilda, and Julia, are all charmed by Dudley, much to Henry’s consternation. There are many great scenes where Dudley steps in and weaves his “angel magic”: helping Debbie get accepted into a snowball fight, keeping the Professor’s sherry bottle filled, dictating the Bishop’s sermon to an unmanned typewriter, helping Julia and taxi driver Sylvester(James Gleason) ice skate like Olympic athletes, playing the harp to melt Mrs. Hamilton’s icy heart, getting the boys to show up for choir practice at St. Timothy’s, keeping Henry away from the choir practice and literally stuck at Mrs. Hamilton’s home, and my favorite: the decorating of the Bishop’s Christmas tree.
What I enjoy about this movie is it’s depiction of faith, of a marriage in trouble, and of relationships developing and relationships healing. The characters are very realistic, even the depiction of an angel! Who wouldn’t want Cary Grant as their angel?? There is charm, comedy, and a wistfulness in this film. When it was first in production, Samuel Goldwyn didn’t like the way the first director, William A. Seiter had handled the film, so he fired Seiter and had him replaced with Henry Koster. He also had Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett make some uncredited rewrites of the screenplay. Gregg Toland’s cinematography was top-notch. Based upon Robert Nathan’s 1928 novel by the same title, I am glad Goldwyn stepped in and ordered those changes which yielded such a rich film.
Will the cathedral get built? Will Mrs. Hamilton win and get Henry demoted? Will St. Timothy’s be closed for good? Will Henry and Julia’s marriage be saved? Will Dudley resolve his feelings for Julia? Will he reveal who he really is to her? The only way to find out the answers to these questions is to seek out The Bishop’s Wife for oneself. It is available at Amazon and at TCM, and it will air on TCM on Christmas Eve at 12:15 am EST, so set that dvr machine!
At the film’s end, we get to hear a portion of Bishop Henry’s Christmas Eve sermon:…”all the stockings are filled except one, the stocking for the child in the manger…Let us ask ourselves what would He wish for most? Let each put in his share. Lovingkindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.” I would add that for the next Christmas season, if you or your family are looking for an opportunity to serve others check out Operation Christmas Child, part of an outreach with The Samaritan’s Purse Ministry. It allows one to give gifts that will be picked up and delivered to children in third world countries. The ministry supplies a guided list of gifts to send and the costs for mailing the packages oversees. For more information, click on this link.
For a lovely Christmas movie, one the entire family can watch and enjoy together, please seek out The Bishop’s Wife!
David Niven portrays Bishop Henry Brougham and Loretta Young is his wife, Julia. They have an 8 year old daughter, Debbie(Karolyn Grimes, who also played Zuzu in It’s a Wonderful Life) and they live in a huge house with a cook and a maid, Matilda(Elsa Lanchester), and the Bishop also has a secretary, Miss Cassaway(Sara Haden.) Life would appear to be simple and easy for the Bishop and his wife, but that isn’t the case at all.It’s Christmas time as the film opens and we see a winter’s evening settling in over a large city. The city isn’t identified but as large as it is in the opening flyover shot, I assumed it to be New York City. We see excited and smiling children admiring the department store windows decorated with moveable characters, acting out little scenes of elves building toys in Santa’s workshop. Watching all of this happiness is one lone man, smartly dressed, who quietly assumes a watchful eye. He helps a blind man cross a busy street, cars suddenly braking to a stop as if an unseen force caused the braking. We see this same man stop a runaway baby buggy and then hand the infant over to her grateful mother. Then as this man is about to stroll away, he notices Julia, the Bishop’ s wife, looking longingly at a hat in a store window.
Julia wants that hat!
When Julia arrives home, she has just missed another meeting with Mrs. Hamilton(Gladys Cooper) and the cathedral committee. What she missed was Mrs. Hamilton scolding Henry about his “fuzzy-thinking” and the doubts Mrs. Hamiton has that Henry is the right man for the job. Mrs. Hamilton’s bossy, irritable mood has rubbed off on Henry and he chastises Julia for missing the meeting and he scoffs at the coin from the Professor. Julia and Henry sit down to an unhappy, tense dinner and Henry tries to make amends with the suggestion that he and Julia actually have a date for lunch the next day. Julia’s face lights up at this plan, only to have their date shattered with a phone call from Mr. Travers, to remind Henry about a meeting that will conflict with the date and cannot be gotten out of. With the date cancelled, Julia goes upstairs and Henry goes back to his study and looks intently at the painting of a cathdral that is above the fireplace mantle. He prays aloud to God for guidance and hears the door to his study open and close. He turns to see who is there and no one is there. As he looks back at the painting, it seems to be lit up and a man is suddenly in the room with him. It is the smartly dressed man we saw in the film’s opening, the good samaritan who was helping people. The man introduces himself as Dudley(Cary Grant), and he tells Henry that he is an angel, sent by God, to give Henry the help he’s prayed for! Henry is at first, very skeptical that this man is an angel and he demands that Dudley perform a miracle right then and there, perhaps to build the cathedral with the wave of his hand. Dudley chuckles at Henry’s challenge and informs Henry that he will help Henry reach his goals until Henry utters a prayer saying he doesn’t need Dudley’s help anymore and Dudley will then leave and no one will remember him having been among them.
Dudley being introduced to Julia
Who wouldn’t want Cary Grant over to decorate their Christmas tree??
Ice skating with Julia
Telling Debbie a story about David, the shepherd boy
Will the cathedral get built? Will Mrs. Hamilton win and get Henry demoted? Will St. Timothy’s be closed for good? Will Henry and Julia’s marriage be saved? Will Dudley resolve his feelings for Julia? Will he reveal who he really is to her? The only way to find out the answers to these questions is to seek out The Bishop’s Wife for oneself. It is available at Amazon and at TCM, and it will air on TCM on Christmas Eve at 12:15 am EST, so set that dvr machine!
At the film’s end, we get to hear a portion of Bishop Henry’s Christmas Eve sermon:…”all the stockings are filled except one, the stocking for the child in the manger…Let us ask ourselves what would He wish for most? Let each put in his share. Lovingkindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.” I would add that for the next Christmas season, if you or your family are looking for an opportunity to serve others check out Operation Christmas Child, part of an outreach with The Samaritan’s Purse Ministry. It allows one to give gifts that will be picked up and delivered to children in third world countries. The ministry supplies a guided list of gifts to send and the costs for mailing the packages oversees. For more information, click on this link.
For a lovely Christmas movie, one the entire family can watch and enjoy together, please seek out The Bishop’s Wife!
Read more: http://www.waynesvilledailyguide.com/article/20131221/BLOGS/312219989/196/features#ixzz2o8YX7jh5
Friday, December 20, 2013
Frequently Asked Questions | Parables
Frequently Asked Questions | Parables
General Questions about Parables TV
If you have additional questions or need help, you can contact us by email at info@parables.tv or through our 24/7 live chat at the link below.
General Questions about Parables TV
- What is Parables TV?
- Parables TV is a faith-based 24/7 streaming television network that is currently available exclusively on the Internet. We are proud to be the only faith-based entertainment network, and unlike all other traditional networks we do not feature preachers, teachers and healers. Rather, we fill the void by providing you with faith-based entertainment that inspires one story at a time.
- Where can I watch Parables TV?
- Our live stream of Christian movies, documentaries and series can be viewed over the Internet via computer, smartphone, tablet or TV (using Roku or Apple TV®).
- Is there a trial period?
- For $1.00 you can try Parables TV for 7 days. If you enjoy what we offer, your membership will continue automatically after the 7 days. Membership begins at sign up and we have three convenient membership options to choose from. You can cancel at any time with no cancellation fees, though we do not offer full or partial refunds. The 7-days for $1.00 trial period begins at the time of sign up. When signing up, you will choose a Parables TV subscription to continue after the trial. You may cancel at any time. There are three subscriptions to choose: a monthly subscription at $6.99 a month, a 3-month subscription for $18.99, or an annual subscription at $67.99. During your trial period, you will only be charged $1.00. If you do not cancel your membership before your trial period is over, you will be charged the amount of the subscription plan you chose during sign up.
- How much does Parables TV cost?
- There are three subscription plans to choose from- 1. Monthly: For just $6.99/month. 2. Quarterly: 3 months for just $18.99 3. Yearly: 12 months for just $67.99. You will receive unlimited access, and can watch Parables TV from anywhere you are. Of course, if you just want to try it, and see what everyone is talking about -- the first 7 days are just $1.
- Can I really cancel any time?
- Yes! While we do not offer full or partial refunds, you can cancel at any time with zero cancellation fees. If you decide, for any reason, to cancel your Parables TV subscription, you can do so by following these steps: 1. Go to www.Parables.tv and sign in to your account. 2. Click on the "My Account" link at the top of the page. 2. Under status, click "Cancel Account." 3. On the next screen, click "Cancel Account Now." 4. Once you have successfully cancelled your account, a green box will pop-up on your screen confirming your cancellation.
- How do I watch Parables on my TV?
- You will need one of the following: a Roku, or an Apple TV® via Airplay® (through your iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch®, along with the Parables TV app). You can also connect your laptop/computer to your TV. For step by step instructions on how to link Parables TV to your Roku, click here. For step by step instructions on how watch Parables with Apple TV, click here.
- How do I watch Parables on my mobile devices?
- You can access Parables on your laptop, smartphone and tablet using the following... 1. Our Parables TV App: Currently, our Parables TV app is only available on iPod touch®, iPhone® and iPads® running iOS 5.0 or higher. If you have an older device, you can view Parables through your Safari browser. 2. Your Internet browser: You can watch us on your computer, laptop, and tablet through your Internet browser by logging into www.parables.tv. We are working to develop apps for other devices, and Android is at the top of the list. In the meantime, we support all other phones and tablets by going to your web browser and visiting our page at www.parables.tv .Just sign in, hit play, and you're good to go. Note: make sure you have Adobe Flash installed or are using the Google Chrome web browser. Click here for Adobe and here for Chrome.
- I forgot my password, what do I do?
- To reset your password, go to the Parables log in screen: parables.tv/login and click on the "Forgot your password?" link. Enter the email address you used to create your Parables TV account and a link will be sent to your email to reset your password. If you don't remember the email address that you used to create your account, please contact customer service at support@parables.tv or through our 24/7 live chat at the link below.
- I am experiencing viewing issues: Parables is not playing at all, bad streaming quality, or connection drops
- 1. Parables is not playing: Make sure you have Adobe Flash. If you need to download Adobe Flash, click here. You can also download Google Chrome (a web browser), which already has flash installed. Click here for Google Chrome. 2. Streaming quality: If you're watching through your internet browser, make sure all other programs and applications are shut down. 3. Other possible issues: Check your bandwidth speed; You need a high-speed Internet connection with a speed of at least 1.2 Mbps (such as mid-level Broadband). If you are using our Parables TV app, make sure you have a strong and consistent WIFI connection. If watching Parables on your computer or laptop, we recommend a minimum of 512 MB of RAM.
- Can I view the movies or programs I want to watch when I want to watch it?
- Presently no, but watch for exciting product enhancements over the next few months. Currently, Parables TV is a streaming television network with the same limitations as network television. You must watch your program when it is on the schedule.
- Do you have a schedule?
- Yes, go to the "Schedule" tab at the top of our website. You will be able to see a description of upcoming movies and shows and when they will be available to view. You can also print the schedule. Click here to go there now.
- How much content can I access on Parables TV?
- We currently have thousands of hours of programming. In addition we are aggressively acquiring new content on an ongoing basis.
- How about advertisements?
- There is virtually no advertising on Parables TV. Because Parables TV is a traditional television network, there will be programming between movies, documentaries and series but it will be relevant to the interest of our viewing audience.
- Is Parables TV safe for my kids to watch?
- We believe this is a decision that only you can make. However, our mission is to provide a television network that is faith based and family-friendly. We know how difficult it is to find safe content on TV, and how frustrating that can be as a parent. All of our movies and shows will have descriptions and ratings information to help you make a better decision as a parent. We think that watching together, with your children, is probably most important, and will ultimately lead to a more rewarding experience.
- How can I purchase a movie I saw on Parables TV?
- You can visit your local Christian store retailer, such as Family Christian Stores, or search at various online retailers, such as Amazon.
If you have additional questions or need help, you can contact us by email at info@parables.tv or through our 24/7 live chat at the link below.
Subscription Video On Demand Movie | Parables 300 Million Slaves
Subscription Video On Demand Movie | Parables
300 Million Slaves
10 Things You Never Knew about One of Our Founding Fathers
Subscription Video On Demand Movie | Parables
10 Things You Never Knew about One of Our Founding Fathers
Description: Peter Francisco isn't often mentioned in modern history textbooks, yet he stands among famous people of the Revolutionary War and is considered one of America's founding fathers. Few know of this Portuguese American's legendary prowess during the American Revolution, in which he served three tours of duty, fought in five major battles, and was wounded six times, twice escaping death. Five monuments stand up and down the East Coast honoring Peter Francisco, the Hercules of the Revolution. George Washington called Peter Francisco his "One-Man Army" and even had a six-foot broadsword fashioned just for Peter on account of his giant stature. Movie Info:Rating: PG Genre: Documentary Year: 2010 Length: 22 min. Cast: Dove Foundation Movie Review:Movie Not Reviewed By The Dove Foundation. | |
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Movie review | The Upcoming
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Movie review | The Upcoming
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Movie review
Wednesday 11th December 2013
Ben Stiller is both director and the main star of this new adaptation of James Thurber’s short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The film follows on from Stiller’s recent work of family-friendly comedies that engage with the far-fetched and fantastical. Thurber’s short story was first published in 1939; the character Walter Mitty, a meek man caught up in his boring suburban life aggravated by his wife’s mundane pesterings, represents the ineffectual daydreamer, with the derivative ‘mittyesque’ later finding its way into the English language. The very short short story centres around a weekly routine trip 
to town with his wife, interchanged with various daydream sequences as Mitty places himself outside of his tedious existence, dreaming up grandiose delusions. It is a comical story yet also with a depressing, psychotic edge.
to town with his wife, interchanged with various daydream sequences as Mitty places himself outside of his tedious existence, dreaming up grandiose delusions. It is a comical story yet also with a depressing, psychotic edge.This adaptation uses the premise of the hapless daydreamer, transporting Mitty to the basement floor of LIFE magazine’s New York offices where Mitty works as a “negative asset manager” (photo editor). The film is strictly a romantic comedy that doesn’t touch on the sombre note of the original short story, and Mitty’s story becomes one of actually fulfilling his dreams and venturing out into the unknown. Mitty’s trial comes when he takes it upon himself to hunt down photographer Sean O’Conner (played by Sean Penn) to find a missing photograph that is to be on the front cover of the last issue of LIFE magazine. No longer does Mitty dream up fantastical situations, but actually lives them.
Alongside all of this is a loose, unfocused parable on the social media age; the lack of real human social interactions and the entrenchment of online dating websites in our lives. Rather than ask the girl from work out, Mitty attempts instead to send her “e-winks”. On top of this is the downsizing of LIFE magazine as it moves to become an online publication, employees are made redundant and the “little man” is ignored. The instant image of the digital age threatens the carefully crafted film photograph that relies a great deal on the people who develop it – Mitty himself, the “little man” on the basement floor.
These themes are never fully developed as the film struggles to coherently express exactly what it intends to. While the film’s style of comedy and level of absurdity make for endearing moments, there is far too much going on, and on the whole the film attempts to say something of significance but ends up feeling shallow.
Thoralf Karlsen
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is released nationwide on 26th December 2013.
Watch the trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty here:
Monday, December 2, 2013
Paul Crouch Tribute and history
This is a tribute to Paul Franklin Crouch in the history of Trinity broadcasting network
Paul Franklin Crouch was born March 30, 1934
Most of his family were missionaries in Egypt Paul was in
Egypt when he was two years old until the outbreak of war, war to his formative
years was in Springfield, Missouri . His first attraction to mass media was
from a Bible Institute that he went on the air with the words hello world when
NBC station and graduation, Paul married Jan Beth and became working the radio
and TV, first in Missouri, and then in South Dakota and find a in 1973, got
call from God to start Trinity broadcasting network on a small Southern
California station a fully own Christian television stations to several
miracles the viewing audience was growing as additional stations were added
Paul Crouch was at the for most of the site satellite technology TBN became a
true coast-to-coast network. The technology was groundbreaking, but his whole
purpose was to spread the gospel opportunities came outside the United States
and TBN expanded to the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Central and South America.
And finally, Asia his missionary heart was always evident since his
two-year-old experience in Egypt TBN grew to be the third largest group owner
of television stations and they broadcast virtually everywhere in the world in
every nation around the world. Then they started the Internet with I TBN is
coded as I believe God had all this figured out to now he stands before the
Lord Jesus Christ hearing the words into my good and faithful servant. .
Fox Business Mobile: After Paul Crouch senior's death. We ask what now?...
Fox Business Mobile: After Paul Crouch senior's death. We ask what now?...: TBN now runs on 84 satellite channels and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates, according to the company. Mr. Crouch was the h...
TBN now runs on 84 satellite channels and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates, according to the company. Mr. Crouch was the host of a show called "Behind the Scenes" that aired until recently.
Paul F. Crouch, a televangelist who co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network and turned it into one of the world's largest Christian television networks, died on Saturday. He was 79.
He died after struggling with degenerative heart disease for a decade, the network said in a statement.
Mr. Crouch served as the face of the television network, along with his wife, Janice, known for her large pink wigs and heavy makeup, expanding it from one station in Southern California to thousands of stations across the world. He often appeared on camera, microphone in hand, quoting from the Bible and delivering his upbeat brand of Christianity.
But he had also faced criticism over lavish spending of the millions of dollars in donations collected through the network. Last year, his granddaughter accused the network of financial improprieties, and her father, Paul Crouch Jr., was forced off the staff.
Paul Franklin Crouch was born in St. Joseph, Mo., on March 30, 1934. His parents were missionaries who had lived in Egypt. He graduated from the Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Mo., and began working in radio.
He and his wife founded Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1973, and bought their first station, now called KTBN-TV 40, in Santa Ana. They embraced satellite technology, broadcasting to more states and eventually overseas.
In a video tribute by the network on Saturday, Mr. Crouch could be seen on camera celebrating the network's expansion to new cities. "All over the country, they're coming to know Jesus," he said. "Church, I think we ought to rejoice 'cause the whole world is getting saved."
TBN now runs on 84 satellite channels and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates, according to the company. Mr. Crouch was the host of a show called "Behind the Scenes" that aired until recently.
The network runs sermons from prominent preachers like Joel Osteen and aired a special this month featuring the Rev. Billy Graham. Earlier this year, Mr. Crouch interviewed Rick Santorum, the Republican former presidential candidate, on his show.
The network also owns the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla.
Some Christian leaders have criticized the couple for preaching the "prosperity gospel" — the message that if you have faith in God and donate generously, you will profit in return. In 2010, donations to TBN totaled $93 million. The Crouches had two mansions in Newport Beach, Calif., and used corporate jets valued at $8 million and $49 million each.
In 2012, Mr. Crouch's granddaughter Brittany Koper went public with allegations of financial improprieties. Ms. Koper told The New York Times that her job had been to label extravagant personal spending as ministry expenses. But a lawyer for the network said that Ms. Koper and her husband had been fired by TBN and accused them of stealing $1.3 million.
The dispute took a toll on the family. Her father left the network, where he had served on the board, saying that getting caught in the middle of the dispute was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure."
Mr. Crouch is survived by his wife; two sons, Paul Jr. and Matthew; and several grandchildren.
Mr. Crouch often traveled overseas with the network and filmed episodes of his "Behind the Scenes" show in London and Rome. In one episode this year, he reminisced about how the network found an audience in Africa, noting that one time when he arrived at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, immigration officials recognized him. They "praised the Lord" and patted him on the back, he said.
"That's God," he said. "He's opening these doors, and we're going through them."
He died after struggling with degenerative heart disease for a decade, the network said in a statement.
Mr. Crouch served as the face of the television network, along with his wife, Janice, known for her large pink wigs and heavy makeup, expanding it from one station in Southern California to thousands of stations across the world. He often appeared on camera, microphone in hand, quoting from the Bible and delivering his upbeat brand of Christianity.
But he had also faced criticism over lavish spending of the millions of dollars in donations collected through the network. Last year, his granddaughter accused the network of financial improprieties, and her father, Paul Crouch Jr., was forced off the staff.
Paul Franklin Crouch was born in St. Joseph, Mo., on March 30, 1934. His parents were missionaries who had lived in Egypt. He graduated from the Central Bible Institute in Springfield, Mo., and began working in radio.
He and his wife founded Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1973, and bought their first station, now called KTBN-TV 40, in Santa Ana. They embraced satellite technology, broadcasting to more states and eventually overseas.
In a video tribute by the network on Saturday, Mr. Crouch could be seen on camera celebrating the network's expansion to new cities. "All over the country, they're coming to know Jesus," he said. "Church, I think we ought to rejoice 'cause the whole world is getting saved."
TBN now runs on 84 satellite channels and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates, according to the company. Mr. Crouch was the host of a show called "Behind the Scenes" that aired until recently.
The network runs sermons from prominent preachers like Joel Osteen and aired a special this month featuring the Rev. Billy Graham. Earlier this year, Mr. Crouch interviewed Rick Santorum, the Republican former presidential candidate, on his show.
The network also owns the Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Fla.
Some Christian leaders have criticized the couple for preaching the "prosperity gospel" — the message that if you have faith in God and donate generously, you will profit in return. In 2010, donations to TBN totaled $93 million. The Crouches had two mansions in Newport Beach, Calif., and used corporate jets valued at $8 million and $49 million each.
In 2012, Mr. Crouch's granddaughter Brittany Koper went public with allegations of financial improprieties. Ms. Koper told The New York Times that her job had been to label extravagant personal spending as ministry expenses. But a lawyer for the network said that Ms. Koper and her husband had been fired by TBN and accused them of stealing $1.3 million.
The dispute took a toll on the family. Her father left the network, where he had served on the board, saying that getting caught in the middle of the dispute was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to endure."
Mr. Crouch is survived by his wife; two sons, Paul Jr. and Matthew; and several grandchildren.
Mr. Crouch often traveled overseas with the network and filmed episodes of his "Behind the Scenes" show in London and Rome. In one episode this year, he reminisced about how the network found an audience in Africa, noting that one time when he arrived at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya, immigration officials recognized him. They "praised the Lord" and patted him on the back, he said.
"That's God," he said. "He's opening these doors, and we're going through them."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)