Reviewing a recent report on the finances of John MacArthur

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Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1Timothy 4:16 (ESV)

The Prosperous Lifestyle of America's Anti-Prosperity Gospel Preacher | The Roys Report (julieroys.com)

John MacArthur has been long considered Teflon in evangelical circles. Widely respected, Johnny Mac has always preached a no-nonsense Gospel message that correctly spoke against the most egregious false teachers of our time. His ministry effort, Grace to You, has been a valuable resource over the years, for the most part. I add that caveat because MacArthur has not been infallible. He is a staunch Calvinist who cannot see that his theological underpinnings are inherently false. Now, when he is not speaking about Calvinism and predestination, he is typically spot on. He caused a kerfuffle last year when he correctly admonished false teacher Beth Moore to go home. Where he went off the rails last year and into this one is with his stance related to the COVID virus. Initially, MacArthur shut down his church but after being out of action for a while, he rapidly changed his mind. So he thumbed his nose at authority and blatantly defied state ordinances to reopen his church in the middle of a lethal pandemic. Suddenly he was the darling of the NAR dominionist crowd and was being interviewed by Stephen Strang at Charisma News. His world-famous discernment seemed all but eviscerated in his zeal to get back behind the pulpit. His written defenses of these decisions were biblically illiterate, as they would have to be since the decision was so clearly one of the flesh. The result was pictures from his church of maskless thousands followed by a reported outbreak. The MacArthur defenders insisted that there was no outbreak but their objection was merely one of terminology. The bottom line is that people from his church contracted COVID due to his negligence. MacArthur himself just returned after a month absence for an illness he refuses to disclose. I say this as a backdrop to examining a new expose compiled by The Roys Report regarding the finances of John MacArthur. For those who are unfamiliar with Julie Roys, she did some fine work exposing the abuses by Pastor James MacDonald. Her MacArthur Report is linked above for reference as we reason once more together:

'"For decades, John MacArthur has railed on prosperity preachers, likening them to "greed mongerers" who led First Century cults. Recently, he's also taken aim at scandal-plagued evangelical leaders, like the late apologist Ravi Zacharias and former Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz, saying these celebrities were in ministry only for the money. That's why "liars and frauds and false teachers" are in business, MacArthur said in a recent sermon. "False teachers always do it for the same reason--filthy lucre, money." Yet according to financial statements and tax forms obtained by The Roys Report, John MacArthur and his family preside over a religious media and educational empire that has over $130 million in assets and generates more than $70 million a year in tax-free revenue. MacArthur and his family and related companies have been paid more than $12.8 million from ministry and donor funds. And MacArthur owns three luxury homes worth millions. In one year alone, MacArthur made more than $402,000 for part-time work at his broadcast ministry, Grace to You (GTY), and another $103,000 from The Master's University and Seminary (TMUS). This was in addition to MacArthur's salary from the megachurch he pastors, Grace Community Church, as well as book royalties and speaking fees.

In fairness, I have never heard John MacArthur utter one word in favor of prosperity preaching, so the complaint here is simply that his lifestyle may not match up to his preaching. This is an often-overlooked facet of discernment and false teaching. We tend to overly focus on the teaching and shy away from examining how the preacher is living. The key verse from today is Paul instructing his prote'ge' Timothy as he embarks on his life as a pastor. He tells him to only guard two things. His life and his doctrine and by doing so promises he will save both himself and his listeners. Doctrine is obvious because only the true Gospel can save anyone. The command to guard his life however is more personal. A preacher of the Gospel must be above reproach. That said, money in an of itself is not indicative of someone who is not guarding his life. It merely opens the door to sin but one must still choose to step through it. The bible says the worker (pastor) is worth his wages so I do not begrudge a preacher who is successful. The question is if it crosses some point of unseemliness. If it begins to damage your witness for Christ. So far what disturbs me is the need to continue to take salary from the church he operates. Even wild-eyed heretics like Joel Osteen does not take a dime from his church because he does not need to with the money he makes selling books. The three homes seem excessive as well but we will get into that later.

Also, in a scenario very similar to Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), the board of GTY has been stacked for decades with MacArthur family members. Like RZIM, GTY also stopped filing IRS 990 tax forms in 2015, which enabled the ministry to keep executive salaries secret. Grace Community Church (GCC) refuses to release its financial statements in violation of a core standard of the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability (ECFA) of which Grace was a member. When I contacted the ECFA about GCC, Compliance Team Lead Jake Lapp replied that the ECFA requires its members to provide a copy of their current financial statements upon written request. He added, "We have been in communication with the church regarding this requirement and expect you will hear a response soon." That was 10 months ago. To date, I have not heard back from GCC, even after emailing the church again to request financial statements. However, I recently learned that GCC resigned from the ECFA less than two weeks after Lapp contacted the church about complying with ECFA standards.* I also reached out to Grace Church elder and GTY executive director, Phil Johnson, inquiring about some of these matters. Johnson responded that some of the information I requested is "a matter of public record. A real journalist would know that." (The composition of GTY's board is publicly available; the answers to my other questions were not.) Johnson further stated that his email, dated March 23, 2020, would be "the last correspondence you will receive from me. Nor will anyone who speaks for our ministry ever answer questions for you regarding any story you intend to write."' - Roys Report

It is such a shame that the ugly head of nepotism seems reared in every ministry today. Pastors wives automatically referred to as pastor as well even though they are not. Given the title of office manager or head of Christian education just so the pastor can effectively draw two salaries from the church. We have all seen it before. What is also worrisome is the financial secrecy. This is another trait of famous preachers. I have written abut how Franklin Graham changed the status of his two charities to "collective of churches" with the IRS so he would not be compelled to release his salaries, which probably total over a million dollars a year at this point since they were over 800K a few years ago. Churches largely subsist on money given to them by their congregants. Transparency must be paramount. The only reason to hide something like this is you don't want people to see it. Secondly here, who does Phil Johnson think he is? What is with the rudeness? To insult someone making an inquiry and then promise no one will ever answer any questions they may have in the future? My experience has always been that when there is that much anger surrounding a fair request there is usually something going on. Where there is this much smoke, you can guarantee there is a raging fire somewhere.

"MacArthur first came under fire for his money in 2014, when several bloggers published MacArthur's salaries, calling them "reprehensible" and noting that MacArthur "earns more than the president of the United States." In response, Phil Johnson posted a statement at the Sharper Iron website, defending his boss' salary (see "MacArthur's Salary" below). Johnson also argued that "(MacArthur's) lifestyle, not his income, is what biblically-minded people should look at if they want to evaluate his character." He added that MacArthur "has lived in the same house for the past 35+ years" and owns only one car. "(N)o one who actually sees how John lives has ever accused him of self-indulgence or even thought in their wildest dreams to describe him as a lover of money," Johnson stated. While it is true that MacArthur has lived in his home in Santa Clarita, California, since the 1980s, the property is worth 1.5 million, which is more than twice the median value of homes in the area. The five-bedroom, four-bath house sits on more than two acres and includes a tennis court and a swimming pool. The home also is not John MacArthur's only residence. Since 1996, MacArthur has also owned a $700,000 villa about an hour west of Santa Clarita, according to a documentThe Roys Report obtained from the Ventura County Tax Assessor's office. The three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home is located next to a world class private club with a championship golf course, tennis courts, pool, and fine dining. MacArthur's third and largest home--a seven-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom ranch on five acres in Colorado Springs--was built in 2007, according to El Paso County records. The property was given to Circle M Ranch--a limited liability limited partnership (LLLP) owned by John and Patricia MacArthur--by David Wismer Sr. Wismer is a longtime member of TMUS' Board of Directors and has also served as TMUS Board secretary. I spoke with Wismer and he told me that in 2007, MacArthur approached him, expressing that he wanted to build a home in Colorado Springs. Wismer said he owns a 2,600-acre ranch in Colorado Springs and was happy to give five acres to MacArthur as a gift. Wismer said MacArthur then built a home (valued around $800,000) on the Colorado property using his own funds. The home also is just 11 miles from the beach. MacArthur's third and largest home--a seven-bedroom, 7.5-bathroom ranch on five acres in Colorado Springs--was built in 2007, according to El Paso County records. The property was given to Circle M Ranch--a limited liability limited partnership (LLLP) owned by John and Patricia MacArthur--by David Wismer Sr. Wismer is a longtime member of TMUS' Board of Directors and has also served as TMUS Board secretary. I spoke with Wismer and he told me that in 2007, MacArthur approached him, expressing that he wanted to build a home in Colorado Springs. Wismer said he owns a 2,600-acre ranch in Colorado Springs and was happy to give five acres to MacArthur as a gift. Wismer said MacArthur then built a home (valued around $800,000) on the Colorado property using his own funds." - Roys Report

It seems clear that Phil Johnson does not entirely get it. Defending his lifestyle while he owns three homes may not have been the best tact to take. I would think many people would think that having your third property be the one with 7.5 baths might classify you into the opulent lifestyle category. Most people do not have beneficiaries giving them five acres of land as a gift. Let alone the ability to take 800,000 dollars out to build your third home from scratch. Johnson also does not get how disingenuous it is to say someone has character for living in the same house for 35 years but neglect to offer up that during those 35 years he bought/built two additional homes. By the way, the three homes is more defensible if the man was still not drawing six fugues in salary from his flock in addition to an average of 320K per year from GTY and TMUS, whose board member gave him the five acres in Colorado. Later in the Roys Report we get into the nepotism with more detail.

"On its website, the ECFA states, "When a ministry encounters failure--or even worse, scandal--its difficulties can almost always be traced to a breakdown in governance." A key characteristic of good governance, according to the ECFA, is maintaining "the reality, not just the appearance of independent board governance." The ECFA considers board members to be independent if they are not related by blood or employees of the organization. For decades, though, two of MacArthur's sons have served on GTY's board along with their father. Phil Johnson, a key GTY employee, has also served on the board for many years. Since 2002, the GTY board has ranged in size from eight to 12 members. So at times, as many as half of the board was either a MacArthur or an employee under John MacArthur. One of MacArthur's sons, Matthew MacArthur, remains on the board and has been listed on every 990 since 2002 as the treasurer of GTY. MacArthur's other son, Mark MacArthur, is also listed on every 990 since 2002 as a GTY board member. In February 2020, Mark MacArthur was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with defrauding clients in a $16 million investment scheme. As late as August 2020, Mark MacArthur was still listed on GTY's website as a board member. Mark MacArthur is not listed as a board member today. In his 2014 statement, Johnson stated that board members "with blood relationships or employment connections to John MacArthur recuse themselves from salary decisions." However, it's not just John MacArthur who is potentially benefitting from his sons' and Johnson's presence on the board. GTY has also paid MacArthur's son-in-law, Kory Welch, and companies Welch owns, millions over the years, as has TMUS. In 2008, Welch was an employee of GTY, making $83,677 as director of television broadcasting. Welch, who's married to MacArthur's daughter, Melinda Welch, also was enjoying a $20,000 no-interest home loan with total debt forgiveness from GTY. In 2008, there were no other contractors providing video production services for GTY, according to the organization's 990s. The next year, however, Welch began working for GTY as a video production contractor through a company Welch had formed two years earlier, called The Welch Group. In 2009, GTY paid The Welch Group $741,000 for "post-production services"--nearly 10 times what GTY had paid Welch the year before. Since then, GTY has paid either The Welch Group or Dorma Productions (another small company Welch owns) between $659,000--$790,000 per year for a combined $8.3 million between 2009--2019. Another company owned by Welch, called WeKreative, has also received more than $1 million in contract work from TMUS. From 2016 through 2019, TMUS paid WeKreative nearly $1.1 million for "marketing, public relations, and video production services," according to TMUS audit reports and 990s. During this time (in 2018 and 2019), TMUS also employed Welch as its COO, and for a time as its chief marketing officer, for which Welch received more than $138,000 in salary and benefits. TMUS did not respond to requests for comment about Welch's contract work or the potential conflict of interest concerning his positions at TMUS." - Roys Report

As mentioned earlier, nepotism is one of the most common offenses in modern day churches. We saw when James MacDonald fell from grace the abuses he had inflicted were allowed through his self-appointed board. Mark Driscoll still excuses the stealing of $250,000 in tithe monies to cheat the NY Time best seller list by simply saying that the board approved the expense. Of course he packed the board with sycophants that excused all of his behavior until it was too late. I can turn the other way to the three homes if that was all there was to this report. I can dislike the salaries but the one issue that sticks out to me is the blind, audacious nepotism at the cost of millions of dollars. To go from 83K to over 740K in one year is absurd. In ten years to then pay your daughter's husband, which means you are paying your daughter directly, eight million dollars? Grace to You may be a non-profit but it sure seems that people were profiting left and right. Again, I have no issue with the man of God getting paid but realize that GTY, TMUS and MacArthur's church are all sustained by the sheep. They are the ones that donate. They are the ones that buy products. They are the ones we need to be worried about.

"In addition to these jobs and positions, Welch is the CEO of The John MacArthur Charitable Trust (formerly The Master's Grace Fund). This is a California nonprofit created "to support various ministries of John MacArthur, according to GTY's 2019 financial statement."

The sole member of The John MacArthur Charitable Trust is GTY and GTY elects a majority of the trust's board. The trust does not file 990s, so it is not known if it pays Welch a salary for his services. "You show me a person who preaches the money gospel, the money message, the wealth message--I'll show you a person who has been corrupted by the love of money."

So said John MacArthur in a 1987 sermon. MacArthur added that he "never ever wanted to be in a position to look at ministry with a price tag." That's why, MacArthur said, he never asks for money when he preaches at other churches. "That is just too overwhelming a problem for my flesh to deal with." Yet clearly, MacArthur takes plenty of money from his own ministries. And though MacArthur may have never preached the prosperity gospel--a gospel that promises health and wealth--his income and portfolio looks an awful lot like those who do. MacArthur may be America's anti-prosperity gospel preacher, but his life, and the life of his family members, appears to be quite prosperous--and he seemingly has his ministries to thank." - Roys Report

If it sounds shady that is because it is. Now, I will reiterate what I said from the beginning which is I have never heard John MacArthur preach prosperity. Preaching against the prosperity gospel does not mean you are preaching against prosperity itself. They are two different things altogether. The prosperity gospel ties financial blessings to your giving. Prosperity itself can just be the fruits of hard work and it seems that Johnny Mac has worked very hard through the years. It is time to take the blinders off though. He remains wildly wrong about Calvinism. His recent foray into the NAR needs to be watched vigilantly. I never would have guessed John MacArthur would welcome being interviewed by Charisma News! That leaves us with the revelations contained in this reporting. This is not against being paid for your labors even if Paul insisted on taking no wages to ensure that there was no obstacle to the Gospel. That is what this report is filled with. Maybe MacArthur has well thought out rationales for needing three houses. Maybe he has justified in his own heart why he needs to be drawing so much in salaries. If it ended there, I think it still smells but maybe just a whiff. The nepotism however makes this entire report a stench. This underhanded, under the table dealing that directly profits your friends and family is what we expect from the world of business or government. Not from someone once considered the premier teacher of the Gospel.

Reverend Anthony Wade - February 9, 2021

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.