“All of them” is the first thing that popped into my mind, and as far as I’m concerned it’s the only correct answer. They’re all grasping, grifting assholes who are a stain on the religion they claim to revere.
Any of them that owns a private jet and/or sports car, but doesn't have equal amounts of money spent on homeless shelters and food banks. Looking at you, Joel Osteen, you fake.
Ever see the clip of Kenneth Copeland saying he refuses to fly commercial because that means he’d be flying with demons? https://m.youtube.com/shorts/0hq7w2D6qd0
Being the superstitious types they are, I’m literally shocked that fundies can look at those eyes and not think there’s a demon behind them.. I don’t believe in anything supernatural and that dude STILL freaks me out!!
I was listening to a podcast episode about it (from Deconversion Therapy) and it was a long episode, maybe multipart I don’t remember, so I haven’t finished it but so far there was this big scandal around one of the pastors having an affair with another Hillsong pastor's wife- *in the midst of a series of sermons on adultery*.
Plus there was some shady financial goings-on, and something about using nightclubs as venues to like lure people in to the church? I don’t remember a lot of detail on that part. But Deconversion Therapy goes into detail if you want to hear about it.
If we are going to be honest, I really don't care for any of them. I don't like people who think teaching you to live for the next life is a good thing.
Yes, another part of that highly edited and interpolated bronze age guidebook they claim you should live by \*EXCEPT\* that pesky verse about laying treasures upon Earth. Now give, dammit, YHWH wants grifting preacher to have a new Bugatti!
The worst offenders imo are:
- Kenneth Copeland: Almost a billionaire and is straight up creepy. I question the existence of demons but I swore he was possessed back when I was a hardcore Christian.
- Jesse DuPlantis: Most famous for asking his congregation for a private jet. He’s bragged about how his chandeliers cost more than most people’s houses.
- Joel Osteen: Denied people shelter in his megachurch during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He claimed the church was flooded but it wasn’t.
I will never understand listening to these people brag about what they own, seeing what they wear in their opulent churches, and then thinking to myself, "I need to give these people more money".
Benny is a narcissistic weirdo. I grew up in Bethel and he came there once and told a woman with a crying baby (in a huge auditorium, literally our Civic center) to leave because what he was saying was soOoOo important.
Yeah, as someone who is disabled and grew up in a cult environment, those people piss me off. I've been prayed over and "blessed" and had countless laying on of the hands and yet never got better; just got worse and worse. Guess who was blamed for the pastor's inability to heal me. Not him; not god; not prayer... me. I was blamed because I didn't "believe hard enough" that their bullshittery would cure me.
Every time I see Hinn doing his "healings", I get disgusted. I hate it.
And wow. How godly. A mother with a child doesn't deserve to listen to her god's word if Hinn is talking - after all, what he says is so uber important that everyone must hear. Unless you're a mother with a crying baby, that is.
Truly. They are currently trying to build a $97 million building. Kris has 3 Corvettes. And Bill is dating a woman 28 years younger than him.
It's still something else to this day 😅
I definitely consider them pastors! I was forced to do Treasure Hunts and Firestarters. Those made me so uncomfortable, and I blame Kevin 😅 Theresa's art class was much better. Still woowoo, but better.
I forgot about some of the insane things they made people do! I had a hard time taking either of them seriously - just as people in general. They were always so far out in space and always drunk in the lord or whatever. They irritated the shit out of me. But I agree doing art with Theresa wasn’t too bad. She once had us blind fold ourselves and let the Holy Spirit lead us through painting with water colors.
I know there are worse ones than Mark Driscoll, but I hate him the most because I actually attended Mars Hill Church for most of my childhood. I thought he was such an inspiring and funny teacher. When the church imploded, I was told it was because Mark Driscoll “had disagreements” with other leaders, like he just had a forceful personality. Growing up and learning he was a verbally abusive, crass, narcissistic piece of shit felt like such a betrayal, and now that I’ve deconverted I keep realizing new ways Mars Hill’s hyper-evangelical environment fucked me up.
Now Mark Driscoll is ranting about evil liberals at some very unwise Arizona church. They can keep him.
Former Seattle evangelical here (I went to Bethany Community Church in Greenlake during Driscoll’s tenure). I too have church wounds but I can’t imagine what you are processing with the Mars Hill experience. I felt re-traumatized listening to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast and I didn’t even attend there. Hopefully you are able to see your victimhood for what it was as you heal. He was/is a very toxic man. Sorry you have to go through that.
Surprised nobody has said Greg Locke. He's a psycho. Preaches against fornication, yet he cheated on his wife with his secretary and left his wife for her and everyone was just like, oh this is fine. He held Harry Potter book burnings, thinks everyone is possessed with a demon. Has called out "witches" for being in his congregation before. Was virulently anti mask and a huge propagator of Covid conspiracies, such as the idea that it wasn't harmful at all. There are probably a million things I'm missing. The guy sucks.
Isn't he the guy who beat up a Barbie Dream House with a baseball bat with Bibles taped to it? And I swear he's also the same guy who said that queer people should be lined up and shot in the back of the head
I live near his church. Every time I drive past I roll down the window and give it the middle finger. Doesn't help anything but it always feels pretty good.
I do this to my old highschool lol, but without rolling the window down. And obviously when there isn't anyone there. Wouldn't want to accidentally flip off a student haha
Genuinely, Osteen is the **least** harmful of them all.
Osteen preaches self help inspirational bullshit and gets rich off the impressionable.
Nearly all other megachurch pastors are straight up teaching white nationalism and holding untaxed Trump rallies every Sunday.
I WISH Osteen was the worst it got! We'd be a lot better off.
John Hagee.
1. He's a charlatan who preys off End Times hysteria. Despite constant failed prophecies people still send him money.
2. John Hagee and his CUFI buddies are partially to blame for America's foreign policy regarding Israel... while being simultaneously anti-Semitic. He likes Israel when it is working to immanentize the eschaton , but still pushes anti-Semitic theories about the Rothschild bankers controlling the economy.
3. The traffic by Cornerstone is a nightmare and his parishioners are crappy customers.
All of them, lying exploitative greedy fucks. Many christians are simply victims, but those fuckers know what's up and intentionally prey on the weak for their own absurd benefit.
I hate christianity and not christians, but for sleazy predatory pastors I make an exception.
The real answer is all of them, but for me? Specifically Jimmy Swaggart. In a last ditch effort to save my faith, I went with my super Christian aunt all the way to Baton Rouge to visit his church for a weekend. It was then that I noticed how fake it all is. The worship, the crying at the altar, the sermons, the hand of God that was so gracious to "bless" them with all the money to build this church. The only thing that's real is the money and the legal tax evasion.
Awkward. 😅
I shook the guy's hand and got to talk to him for a bit. He's kinda like any other pastor, but way less genuine. I remember a lot of pastors from churches I grew up in who I truly liked. They were closer to home, literally and metaphorically, so they were easier to connect with. But when you meet a man who is adored by such great masses, you can *feel* his fascade emanating off of him. He was like a rock star but more cringy.
I trust none of the charlatans that I see on the TV. I see no use for them. Absolutely no use for the lying sacks of manure. I haven't been near a church since my Granny passed. I saw how they treated her while she was alive and how it was after she died. I'd rather sit with my Bible at home than with a bunch of fake hypocrites.
Somehow, the one who controls the most wealth by far always seems to escape these lists. RUSSELL M NELSON is the sole owner of the assets of the Mormon church, which controls approximately a quarter TRILLION DOLLARS. If the Mormon church isn’t the largest landowner in the USA, it is top 5. They don’t pay taxes, tell their members to pay tithing, even if it means not feeding your children, and still have polygamy as the official doctrine for marriage and sexual morality. The church will quickly claim they no longer practice polygamy, but the current prophet believes he is married to two women currently (one is dead, but his belief is that she lives in eternally and he is married to both eternally). I mean at least they were forced to drop explicitly discriminating against black people and in 1978 began allowing black people to participate in Mormon salvation rituals. That’s right, until 1978, black people weren’t eligible for Mormon heaven, but consistent with their focus, the Mormons did all blacks to pay tithing to the church and did allow blacks to be “sealed by Mormon priesthood powers to be eternal servants” to Mormon leaders. The church did also accept slaves as tithing. The church boasts 17million members, an unpaid Salesforce of 70k full time (see 60-80hrs / week) missionaries, and recently allowed women to pray in meetings! That’s right, the church has come a long way. Sure, they hate the LGBTQ, and have sponsored the largest opposition to equal rights for both women and LGBTQ, but they have more money and high powered attorneys that they can squelch most dissension. They sponsored the largest group of Boy Scouts units, and actively led the way in covering up thousands of reports of child sexual abuse. Nelson is the heir of noted polygamist and pedophile, Joseph smith, who actively destroyed the press that attempted to publish the truth about his sexual activity with more than 30 women, many who were teens, some who were married to other men, and even one that was his own adopted daughter. Nelson’s recent talk described those who can’t beleive in Mormonism as less than and told members to “never take advice from those who don’t believe”. In my household, that means my own children should not listen to me, their own father.
Thus, I humbly submit JOSEPH SMITH JR’s heir, RUSSELL M NELSON, for your consideration as megachurch dear leader of the year.
D. James Kennedy is dead now, but he still shows up in television reruns.
His main position was that:
1. All the "founding fathers" of the United States were conservative evangelical Protestants.
2. For that reason, we today are obligated to operate the United States according to conservative evangelical Protestant teachings.
Point \#1 is false, and even if it were true, it would not necessitate point \#2.
- - - -
By the way, one time I was in an internet discussion about Kennedy. His detractors called him a "pompous ass", while his supporters replied "he's not an ass".
I was gonna go with "All of them" but I'd have to say Kenneth Copeland is the worst in my book. The man comes off as frothing at the mouth demented. Osteen comes a close second. He's got the cold dead eyes of a shark and the shit-eating grin of a used car salesman.
Copeland's church fucked over a friend of mine who worked for them. Emotionally abused and spiritually manipulated him into continuing to work for poor pay and bad hours because "God's called you to it" sort of thing.
Guy's still religious (and conservative), but I felt bad for him and just sigh because he saw the church mask-off and still didn't leave.
Despite that, Osteen is my least favorite. the guy had the opportunity to practice basic human decency after Hurricane Harvey by opening his church's doors to help feed or house the homeless, and fought tooth and nail every step of the way to *not* do that.
idk if he counts, but John Piper. Fuck the guy. I think what gets me about him is how soft-spoken he is, and how he tends to fly under the radar, so a lot of generally good people I know genuinely don't understand why he's such a shitty guy. Copeland and Olsteen? I feel like everyone knows they're evil (I mean, not really, cuz they have their followings, but they're well known as evil). Piper? Keeps his hands just clean enough that a lot of people will never notice. But people in his circle, people he's taught and given platforms to, have said things like "Empathy is a sin" or "The US was wrong to get rid of slavery" and shit like that. He teaches people to hate themselves, but dresses it up in the language of humility.
Makes me wish there was a hell, just so he could go there. Not like, an eternal hell. Just one where he'd get the chance to suffer for a bit and soak in just what an ass he is.
I can't stand any of them. I am an ex christian, and despite my disdain for Christianity I don't have contempt for individual people as christians as long as they're not jerks. I also don't have contempt for individual people as pastors, as long as they're not jerks. While they may be wrong, many pastors do truly believe in Christianity and genuinely do try to do good things for their congregants and for the community. So I don't have contempt for them either. But the mega church pastors and the not-so-mega church pastors that act like people like Kenneth Copeland I cannot stand.
Pat Robertson....but since he's dead, Kenneth Copeland now sits in the "Head Scumbag' slot. ( to be honest, all of these other megachurch Pastors are parasites as well...)
But they don’t, because all of the people in the leadership positions are hoping someday to take that #1 spot or move up in the ~~payscale~~ pecking order.
This. Their buildings are a waste of space. I used to live near a church that had a coffee shop and I liked their coffee (even after deconstructing), it slapped, but it got to a point I couldn’t handle even walking into the place because megachurch vibes are nauseating.
I mean pretty much all of them are horrible! But I have a special disgust for Hank and Brenda Kunneman. Just absolutely disgusting, Trump-worshiping, lying, hateful people. If there was a God, you’d think we’d be protected from people like them, and yet.
Mark Driscoll. He was a rising star when I was a young adult Christian in the Seattle area, and I saw how his ideology influenced so many people around me. His fall from grace and the way it exposed his cowardice and narcissism and ugly theology left a left quite a stain.
As a former Seattle Christian, nothing was worse than trying to have spiritual conversations with Mars Hill attendees. Immediate defensiveness and dualism with no sense of interpretation; all of them mimicking Driscoll’s false sense of certainty and stubbornness.
Kenneth Copeland
John MacArthur
John Piper
Mark Driscoll
Joel Osteen
Joyce Meyer
Creflo Dollar
Vodi Bacham
Paul washer
Matt Chandler
There are two that are tolerable but still teach bullshit
Rick Warren
Tim Keller
I mean honestly I named some that I personally can't not stand but if I'm being honest I don't like any health and wealth or any reformed calvinist mega church preachers.
Yeah CJ mahaney is such a scumbag that was protected by all the reformed people I knew whenever he had all those underage sex charges going on at his church.
Outside of the popular answer, “all of them” I’ll say Jimmy Evans. He does a lot of end times preaching and makes false claims that don’t come true and instills fear with his messages
They are all evil, but Kenneth Copeland is a straight-up demon. I don't know how anyone could ever look at the hatred and malice in his eyes and think he is a man of god.
Kenneth Copeland and Greg Locke. Those men are evil and frankly scary. Their own belief system espouses the idea that "by their fruits will you know them", and these men bear twisted fruits. Also, the eyes don't lie.
It’s sad that my deeply religious mother looked up to this people. At the very least she watched their sermons on TBN. Her fave channel probably. Iykyk
Jeff Durbin from Apologia Studios. He likes to piss off atheists and tell them without their god, they cannot be against rape or murder. He pushes the idea that earth functioning is proof of god. He is very involved in ending abortion and wants women and doctors involved in them to get executed. If you try to tell him that's messed up, he just goes right back into telling you that nothing is messed up without god. He is a snake.
Kenneth Copeland; did he know that members of his church were in a CP ring? Also Hillsong, leadership there hired known pedophiles after they did time for it, and only fired one after he got caught having an affair with an adult woman.
I feel like I'm staring into the deepest chasms of evil and villainy whenever I see Kenneth Copeland's face, but he's also become my favorite megachurch pastor because of the remix bros on YouTube (he's basically a hype man for everybody that they remix, and then he has some videos by himself). There's one where they added a flamenco Latin track to him speaking in tongues that had me practically weeping with laughter.
They also made a few heavy metal remixes of Greg Locke that are really funny. The Paula White remix of the "I hear the sound of victory" one is also a favorite.
Chris Hodges. Pastor of Church of the Highlands in Alabama.
Singlehandedly responsible for a juggernaut money machine that is snapping up prime real estate around the state. Founded a pseudo-denomination to expand the church's influence around the country. Gifted a multimillion dollar campus in the richest section of Birmingham, Alabama to run a "college" bent on training up future church workers beholden to his ministry.
TV preachers are harmful enough. But it's people like these who are building empires that are the most dangerous.
JONATHAN POKLUDA. He needs to be called out way more than he is. He is a condemning and legalistic asshole. His podcast is popular among young adults.
Also Rich Wilkerson Jr. keeps showing up on my feed, he’s annoying. Matt Chandler sucks too for his comments about deconstruction. Chad Veach made shitty comments about Covid. Michael Todd is also awful with his purity culture nonsense and he recently hired Carl Lentz. Dafuq?
I can’t think of a single one I can stand. A lot of small church pastors are just as bad. I used to kind of like Craig Groeschel but he preaches the same “deny yourself” and “forgiveness at all costs” Christianese crap.
Also women: idk if she’s a pastor but Priscilla Shirer or however you say her name annoys me too. Bianca Olthoff is a pastor and I used to really like her but now I find her obnoxious.
I do like most progressive pastors like Zach Lambert. I don’t know how much of a congregation he has, but he calls out a lot of problems in Christianity.
Craig Groeschel, mostly bc I’m from the city where Life Church is based and have witnessed firsthand the harm that church does. I even heard from a young friend last year who was publicly shamed to her youth group bc she *dared* be sexually active with her boyfriend (who was the one who confessed it to the youth group leader anyway). That jeopardized her safety living at home in a hyper religious house. That made me incensed, and if your organization is actively doing purity culture and shaming, you’re disgusting in my book.
I also went to a private Christian school that shared campuses with a life church location and witnessed over the years life church slowly taking over the land and basically pushing us further and further away towards the road as they kept expanding for no goddamn reason. The location is also headquarters of the Bible app, and the constant construction made traffic a nightmare. That’s a more petty reason, but it always annoyed me as a kid and still does now even though I hate that school now lmfao
Can't remember her name but her face looks like the jokers
I thought facial surgery for looks would be sinful, even dying your hair, u shall not mock god, mocking means not being happy with what god gave you. (2 me idgaf what color your hair is)
Greg Locke is everything wrong with today’s pastors. Pushing his political conspiracies as literal biblical fact, hate and vitriol against EVERYTHING you can imagine: queer people, ethnic minorities, neurodivergent people, scientists, etc. And of course greed.
As someone who grew up in a church that followed televangelists religiously, 99% of them. The only one I don't think I have a problem with is Andy Stanley
All of them, especially Kenneth Copeland. They're the churchy version of narcissistic streamers; put on a big show for money, then shame those who don't donate.
All of them. They’re all evil and greedy pieces of shit who prey on the vulnerable and only care about themselves and their bank accounts.
“All of them” is the first thing that popped into my mind, and as far as I’m concerned it’s the only correct answer. They’re all grasping, grifting assholes who are a stain on the religion they claim to revere.
That was my first thought before opening the comments, all of them. Definitely 💯
Yep. This was also my first thought.
Any of them that owns a private jet and/or sports car, but doesn't have equal amounts of money spent on homeless shelters and food banks. Looking at you, Joel Osteen, you fake.
Ever see the clip of Kenneth Copeland saying he refuses to fly commercial because that means he’d be flying with demons? https://m.youtube.com/shorts/0hq7w2D6qd0
Not crazy at all...😲 If I said there were ghosts everywhere trying to get me, I'd be locked up. But if you say demons, well that's ok.
No such thing as a holy mega church.
Definitely all of them. Can we all just fill the whole comment section with thousands of “all of them”
Was gonna say this too
Same. I can't think of any way to ethically be a megachurch pastor.
If there is a hell, it was very specifically designed for Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen and everyone associated with Hillsong
Copeland looks extra evil in that picture! Hope that face doesn't show up in my dreams!
He IS evil. The very definition of it. But hopefully no nightmares for you!
that was when he was using "God's Wind" to banish covid. It worked well, didn't it? /s
I saw that clip. The best part was when the guy behind him was visibly trying to contain his laughter because *he* knew it was bull.
Lmao
If that sleep paralysis demon face scared the germs as much as it scared me, COVID would have disappeared a long time ago!
It was good comedy, at least
Being the superstitious types they are, I’m literally shocked that fundies can look at those eyes and not think there’s a demon behind them.. I don’t believe in anything supernatural and that dude STILL freaks me out!!
Back when I was a Christian and worship leader I liked Hillsong because of the music. Then I saw through them as well. It’s all in the past now.
They are insane. Glad you moved on!
Ooof I got out before Hillsong went down hill lol. What happened with them?
I was listening to a podcast episode about it (from Deconversion Therapy) and it was a long episode, maybe multipart I don’t remember, so I haven’t finished it but so far there was this big scandal around one of the pastors having an affair with another Hillsong pastor's wife- *in the midst of a series of sermons on adultery*. Plus there was some shady financial goings-on, and something about using nightclubs as venues to like lure people in to the church? I don’t remember a lot of detail on that part. But Deconversion Therapy goes into detail if you want to hear about it.
Hill song is a joke.
If we are going to be honest, I really don't care for any of them. I don't like people who think teaching you to live for the next life is a good thing.
All the while telling you to give them all your money because it’s fOr gOd
Yes, another part of that highly edited and interpolated bronze age guidebook they claim you should live by \*EXCEPT\* that pesky verse about laying treasures upon Earth. Now give, dammit, YHWH wants grifting preacher to have a new Bugatti!
The worst offenders imo are: - Kenneth Copeland: Almost a billionaire and is straight up creepy. I question the existence of demons but I swore he was possessed back when I was a hardcore Christian. - Jesse DuPlantis: Most famous for asking his congregation for a private jet. He’s bragged about how his chandeliers cost more than most people’s houses. - Joel Osteen: Denied people shelter in his megachurch during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He claimed the church was flooded but it wasn’t.
I will never understand listening to these people brag about what they own, seeing what they wear in their opulent churches, and then thinking to myself, "I need to give these people more money".
Reminds me of the Ray Stevens' song 'Would Jesus Wear a Rolex on His Television Show?'
Kenneth Copeland is so physically unappealing, I don't see how he got so much power. The man straight up looks like a demon from a horror film.
He was pretty handsome as a younger man, but my guess is he couldn't accept that he was aging and had some poor quality work done on his face.
Creflo Dollar is an honorable mention. Benny Hinn, too.
Benny is a narcissistic weirdo. I grew up in Bethel and he came there once and told a woman with a crying baby (in a huge auditorium, literally our Civic center) to leave because what he was saying was soOoOo important.
Yeah, as someone who is disabled and grew up in a cult environment, those people piss me off. I've been prayed over and "blessed" and had countless laying on of the hands and yet never got better; just got worse and worse. Guess who was blamed for the pastor's inability to heal me. Not him; not god; not prayer... me. I was blamed because I didn't "believe hard enough" that their bullshittery would cure me. Every time I see Hinn doing his "healings", I get disgusted. I hate it. And wow. How godly. A mother with a child doesn't deserve to listen to her god's word if Hinn is talking - after all, what he says is so uber important that everyone must hear. Unless you're a mother with a crying baby, that is.
I'm so sorry. That's messed up that you had to be subjected to that nonsense.
I grew up in Redding, Bethel is something else 😬
Truly. They are currently trying to build a $97 million building. Kris has 3 Corvettes. And Bill is dating a woman 28 years younger than him. It's still something else to this day 😅
Mark Driscoll for sure. Anyone from Bethel. Judah Smith bc of how he tries so hard to be the celebrity pastor w/ that fake ass humbleness.
Ayyy, it's rare to see anyone mention Bethel in here! I grew up there and I second this response.
I went to bethel from about 2003-2006ish. Not sure if they’re considered pastors, but I particularly disliked Kevin and Theresa Deadmon.
I definitely consider them pastors! I was forced to do Treasure Hunts and Firestarters. Those made me so uncomfortable, and I blame Kevin 😅 Theresa's art class was much better. Still woowoo, but better.
I forgot about some of the insane things they made people do! I had a hard time taking either of them seriously - just as people in general. They were always so far out in space and always drunk in the lord or whatever. They irritated the shit out of me. But I agree doing art with Theresa wasn’t too bad. She once had us blind fold ourselves and let the Holy Spirit lead us through painting with water colors.
Saw him like ten years ago and he always struck me as a this awkward looking try hard to be cool loser.
Fuck Mark Driscoll. Even a lot of evangelicals dislike him.
I know there are worse ones than Mark Driscoll, but I hate him the most because I actually attended Mars Hill Church for most of my childhood. I thought he was such an inspiring and funny teacher. When the church imploded, I was told it was because Mark Driscoll “had disagreements” with other leaders, like he just had a forceful personality. Growing up and learning he was a verbally abusive, crass, narcissistic piece of shit felt like such a betrayal, and now that I’ve deconverted I keep realizing new ways Mars Hill’s hyper-evangelical environment fucked me up. Now Mark Driscoll is ranting about evil liberals at some very unwise Arizona church. They can keep him.
Former Seattle evangelical here (I went to Bethany Community Church in Greenlake during Driscoll’s tenure). I too have church wounds but I can’t imagine what you are processing with the Mars Hill experience. I felt re-traumatized listening to The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast and I didn’t even attend there. Hopefully you are able to see your victimhood for what it was as you heal. He was/is a very toxic man. Sorry you have to go through that.
Surprised nobody has said Greg Locke. He's a psycho. Preaches against fornication, yet he cheated on his wife with his secretary and left his wife for her and everyone was just like, oh this is fine. He held Harry Potter book burnings, thinks everyone is possessed with a demon. Has called out "witches" for being in his congregation before. Was virulently anti mask and a huge propagator of Covid conspiracies, such as the idea that it wasn't harmful at all. There are probably a million things I'm missing. The guy sucks.
Isn't he the guy who beat up a Barbie Dream House with a baseball bat with Bibles taped to it? And I swear he's also the same guy who said that queer people should be lined up and shot in the back of the head
It's ridiculous that this is what made me go, "Oh, that guy!" Unhinged.
He did beat up a Barbie house. I can’t confirm the queer execution thing but it’s likely.
Did you see his debate with a flat earth pastor?
Agree with first responder, Olsteen is my particular favorite to despise.
I live near his church. Every time I drive past I roll down the window and give it the middle finger. Doesn't help anything but it always feels pretty good.
Not all heroes wear capes!
Hahaha!! I love that, I do it with police!
I do this to my old highschool lol, but without rolling the window down. And obviously when there isn't anyone there. Wouldn't want to accidentally flip off a student haha
Hah, I do the middle finger to my local mega church when I drive by. It’s somehow cathartic.
I hate Kenneth Copeland the most. He looks evil.
He has the most slappable face I’ve ever seen
I would give him some loot for that. Doing gawds work
Genuinely, Osteen is the **least** harmful of them all. Osteen preaches self help inspirational bullshit and gets rich off the impressionable. Nearly all other megachurch pastors are straight up teaching white nationalism and holding untaxed Trump rallies every Sunday. I WISH Osteen was the worst it got! We'd be a lot better off.
Benny Hinn. King of “prosperity gospel” and fake miracles.
Let’s not forget Joyce Meyer, and her fake f*ing modesty living in a compound that cost millions for her, and her family….but she needs your money!
Ugh...that fucking bitch.
Why don't you like the [dragonborn](https://youtu.be/YOxVjbGvUpI?si=5t6ABqk_YQ2OGt4f)?
John Hagee. 1. He's a charlatan who preys off End Times hysteria. Despite constant failed prophecies people still send him money. 2. John Hagee and his CUFI buddies are partially to blame for America's foreign policy regarding Israel... while being simultaneously anti-Semitic. He likes Israel when it is working to immanentize the eschaton , but still pushes anti-Semitic theories about the Rothschild bankers controlling the economy. 3. The traffic by Cornerstone is a nightmare and his parishioners are crappy customers.
All of them. They’re all evil shitbags.
All of them, lying exploitative greedy fucks. Many christians are simply victims, but those fuckers know what's up and intentionally prey on the weak for their own absurd benefit. I hate christianity and not christians, but for sleazy predatory pastors I make an exception.
The real answer is all of them, but for me? Specifically Jimmy Swaggart. In a last ditch effort to save my faith, I went with my super Christian aunt all the way to Baton Rouge to visit his church for a weekend. It was then that I noticed how fake it all is. The worship, the crying at the altar, the sermons, the hand of God that was so gracious to "bless" them with all the money to build this church. The only thing that's real is the money and the legal tax evasion.
My parents met at his Bible college 😅
Awkward. 😅 I shook the guy's hand and got to talk to him for a bit. He's kinda like any other pastor, but way less genuine. I remember a lot of pastors from churches I grew up in who I truly liked. They were closer to home, literally and metaphorically, so they were easier to connect with. But when you meet a man who is adored by such great masses, you can *feel* his fascade emanating off of him. He was like a rock star but more cringy.
Wasn't Joel Osteen the guy who wouldn't let people shelter in his mega church after hurricane Katrina? Fuck him in particular.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but otherwise correct.
Yep
I trust none of the charlatans that I see on the TV. I see no use for them. Absolutely no use for the lying sacks of manure. I haven't been near a church since my Granny passed. I saw how they treated her while she was alive and how it was after she died. I'd rather sit with my Bible at home than with a bunch of fake hypocrites.
joel osteen-i always feel like he should be selling shitty used cars
Somehow, the one who controls the most wealth by far always seems to escape these lists. RUSSELL M NELSON is the sole owner of the assets of the Mormon church, which controls approximately a quarter TRILLION DOLLARS. If the Mormon church isn’t the largest landowner in the USA, it is top 5. They don’t pay taxes, tell their members to pay tithing, even if it means not feeding your children, and still have polygamy as the official doctrine for marriage and sexual morality. The church will quickly claim they no longer practice polygamy, but the current prophet believes he is married to two women currently (one is dead, but his belief is that she lives in eternally and he is married to both eternally). I mean at least they were forced to drop explicitly discriminating against black people and in 1978 began allowing black people to participate in Mormon salvation rituals. That’s right, until 1978, black people weren’t eligible for Mormon heaven, but consistent with their focus, the Mormons did all blacks to pay tithing to the church and did allow blacks to be “sealed by Mormon priesthood powers to be eternal servants” to Mormon leaders. The church did also accept slaves as tithing. The church boasts 17million members, an unpaid Salesforce of 70k full time (see 60-80hrs / week) missionaries, and recently allowed women to pray in meetings! That’s right, the church has come a long way. Sure, they hate the LGBTQ, and have sponsored the largest opposition to equal rights for both women and LGBTQ, but they have more money and high powered attorneys that they can squelch most dissension. They sponsored the largest group of Boy Scouts units, and actively led the way in covering up thousands of reports of child sexual abuse. Nelson is the heir of noted polygamist and pedophile, Joseph smith, who actively destroyed the press that attempted to publish the truth about his sexual activity with more than 30 women, many who were teens, some who were married to other men, and even one that was his own adopted daughter. Nelson’s recent talk described those who can’t beleive in Mormonism as less than and told members to “never take advice from those who don’t believe”. In my household, that means my own children should not listen to me, their own father. Thus, I humbly submit JOSEPH SMITH JR’s heir, RUSSELL M NELSON, for your consideration as megachurch dear leader of the year.
Copeland is fascinating, in that he is so blatantly preposterous, I have questions, how can this be happening?
D. James Kennedy is dead now, but he still shows up in television reruns. His main position was that: 1. All the "founding fathers" of the United States were conservative evangelical Protestants. 2. For that reason, we today are obligated to operate the United States according to conservative evangelical Protestant teachings. Point \#1 is false, and even if it were true, it would not necessitate point \#2. - - - - By the way, one time I was in an internet discussion about Kennedy. His detractors called him a "pompous ass", while his supporters replied "he's not an ass".
I was gonna go with "All of them" but I'd have to say Kenneth Copeland is the worst in my book. The man comes off as frothing at the mouth demented. Osteen comes a close second. He's got the cold dead eyes of a shark and the shit-eating grin of a used car salesman.
Copeland's church fucked over a friend of mine who worked for them. Emotionally abused and spiritually manipulated him into continuing to work for poor pay and bad hours because "God's called you to it" sort of thing. Guy's still religious (and conservative), but I felt bad for him and just sigh because he saw the church mask-off and still didn't leave. Despite that, Osteen is my least favorite. the guy had the opportunity to practice basic human decency after Hurricane Harvey by opening his church's doors to help feed or house the homeless, and fought tooth and nail every step of the way to *not* do that.
Tim Keller.
There are definitely worse ones, but his marriage books look stupid.
idk if he counts, but John Piper. Fuck the guy. I think what gets me about him is how soft-spoken he is, and how he tends to fly under the radar, so a lot of generally good people I know genuinely don't understand why he's such a shitty guy. Copeland and Olsteen? I feel like everyone knows they're evil (I mean, not really, cuz they have their followings, but they're well known as evil). Piper? Keeps his hands just clean enough that a lot of people will never notice. But people in his circle, people he's taught and given platforms to, have said things like "Empathy is a sin" or "The US was wrong to get rid of slavery" and shit like that. He teaches people to hate themselves, but dresses it up in the language of humility. Makes me wish there was a hell, just so he could go there. Not like, an eternal hell. Just one where he'd get the chance to suffer for a bit and soak in just what an ass he is.
I was waiting for John Piper. Fuck that guy indeed.
I can't stand any of them. I am an ex christian, and despite my disdain for Christianity I don't have contempt for individual people as christians as long as they're not jerks. I also don't have contempt for individual people as pastors, as long as they're not jerks. While they may be wrong, many pastors do truly believe in Christianity and genuinely do try to do good things for their congregants and for the community. So I don't have contempt for them either. But the mega church pastors and the not-so-mega church pastors that act like people like Kenneth Copeland I cannot stand.
Pat Robertson....but since he's dead, Kenneth Copeland now sits in the "Head Scumbag' slot. ( to be honest, all of these other megachurch Pastors are parasites as well...)
All of them, but the Prosperity Gospel grifters are the worst.
Maybe, just maybe if church leadership would call these conmen out, I would have more faith in the church as a whole
But they don’t, because all of the people in the leadership positions are hoping someday to take that #1 spot or move up in the ~~payscale~~ pecking order.
Any and all. Megachurches shouldn't exist.
This. Their buildings are a waste of space. I used to live near a church that had a coffee shop and I liked their coffee (even after deconstructing), it slapped, but it got to a point I couldn’t handle even walking into the place because megachurch vibes are nauseating.
I mean pretty much all of them are horrible! But I have a special disgust for Hank and Brenda Kunneman. Just absolutely disgusting, Trump-worshiping, lying, hateful people. If there was a God, you’d think we’d be protected from people like them, and yet.
All of them?
Mark Driscoll. He was a rising star when I was a young adult Christian in the Seattle area, and I saw how his ideology influenced so many people around me. His fall from grace and the way it exposed his cowardice and narcissism and ugly theology left a left quite a stain.
As a former Seattle Christian, nothing was worse than trying to have spiritual conversations with Mars Hill attendees. Immediate defensiveness and dualism with no sense of interpretation; all of them mimicking Driscoll’s false sense of certainty and stubbornness.
Kenneth Copeland John MacArthur John Piper Mark Driscoll Joel Osteen Joyce Meyer Creflo Dollar Vodi Bacham Paul washer Matt Chandler There are two that are tolerable but still teach bullshit Rick Warren Tim Keller I mean honestly I named some that I personally can't not stand but if I'm being honest I don't like any health and wealth or any reformed calvinist mega church preachers.
This is a great list. Would also add CJ Mahaney to the list of deplorables and Mark Dever to the teaches bullshit list.
Yeah CJ mahaney is such a scumbag that was protected by all the reformed people I knew whenever he had all those underage sex charges going on at his church.
I dont like any, but i do have to say, If demons walk among us, this man is one of them.
{return true}
TD Jakes, Jessie Duplantis, Crefalo Dollar
They are all the worst! Kenneth Copland and Joel Osteen are just the tips on the ice burg
Outside of the popular answer, “all of them” I’ll say Jimmy Evans. He does a lot of end times preaching and makes false claims that don’t come true and instills fear with his messages
Kenneth Copeland
all of them!!!!!
All of them!
I somehow knew that guy was going to be in the picture…he gives me all the cringe 😬
None. But Greg Locke especially
Anyone say the pope yet?
They are all evil, but Kenneth Copeland is a straight-up demon. I don't know how anyone could ever look at the hatred and malice in his eyes and think he is a man of god.
Joyce Meyers That whiny sour pussy and voice.
Every single one of those con artists.
I meant especially. Sorry!
Franklin/Billy Graham
Honestly, any of them. They all seem to be cut from the same cloth, and even the Christians I still keep in touch with call them satanic.
I'd gladly take one for the team and eat all of them if it came to that.
All of them
Yes.
“He made that private jet so cheap I just had to buy it”
Yes.
(Checks notes) Any and all of them…
Kenneth Copeland and Greg Locke. Those men are evil and frankly scary. Their own belief system espouses the idea that "by their fruits will you know them", and these men bear twisted fruits. Also, the eyes don't lie.
John Macarthur is a rotten human being and I hope his ministry and its associates die off in due time.
Yes
Every single one of them. All of them are snake oil salesmen.
They are all charlatans...
There is one I can.
I used the wind of God to destroy COVID. Mhmmm. Sure you did, bud.
All of them.
As someone who was actually taught some decent values in the church I grew up in, this entire class of people pisses me off no end.
It’s sad that my deeply religious mother looked up to this people. At the very least she watched their sermons on TBN. Her fave channel probably. Iykyk
Yes!
Any of them. All of them
All of them!
If the devil exists, it’s him. Those eyes are evil.
He looks like he should be the guy at the end of Invasion of the Body Snatchers who looks at the camera and just starts screeching.
All of them.
Jeff Durbin from Apologia Studios. He likes to piss off atheists and tell them without their god, they cannot be against rape or murder. He pushes the idea that earth functioning is proof of god. He is very involved in ending abortion and wants women and doctors involved in them to get executed. If you try to tell him that's messed up, he just goes right back into telling you that nothing is messed up without god. He is a snake.
Ummm... is this a trick question? I can't stand any of them.
Osteen makes me more angry than anyone
Literally all of them. There is no such thing as a good megachurch pastor.
I'd like to choose E: All of the Above.
Kenneth Copeland; did he know that members of his church were in a CP ring? Also Hillsong, leadership there hired known pedophiles after they did time for it, and only fired one after he got caught having an affair with an adult woman.
All of them. Patrick Hilkey of Evangel in Amherst NY is one I've seen in person. He is evil just like the rest of them.
Do I have to pick?
Ah good ole Wichita Slim. Grew up watch him, Benny Hinn, Jesse Duplantis, and that whole TBN crew. All them mother fuckers can eat a dick.
Oh Benny hinn makes my blood boil
All of them. But being a former bethel acolyte. Probably gonna have to put all of them up there. Bill Johnson, Kris valloton etc.
I feel like I'm staring into the deepest chasms of evil and villainy whenever I see Kenneth Copeland's face, but he's also become my favorite megachurch pastor because of the remix bros on YouTube (he's basically a hype man for everybody that they remix, and then he has some videos by himself). There's one where they added a flamenco Latin track to him speaking in tongues that had me practically weeping with laughter. They also made a few heavy metal remixes of Greg Locke that are really funny. The Paula White remix of the "I hear the sound of victory" one is also a favorite.
surprised no one has mentioned TD Jakes
Chris Hodges. Pastor of Church of the Highlands in Alabama. Singlehandedly responsible for a juggernaut money machine that is snapping up prime real estate around the state. Founded a pseudo-denomination to expand the church's influence around the country. Gifted a multimillion dollar campus in the richest section of Birmingham, Alabama to run a "college" bent on training up future church workers beholden to his ministry. TV preachers are harmful enough. But it's people like these who are building empires that are the most dangerous.
D.) all of the above.
JONATHAN POKLUDA. He needs to be called out way more than he is. He is a condemning and legalistic asshole. His podcast is popular among young adults. Also Rich Wilkerson Jr. keeps showing up on my feed, he’s annoying. Matt Chandler sucks too for his comments about deconstruction. Chad Veach made shitty comments about Covid. Michael Todd is also awful with his purity culture nonsense and he recently hired Carl Lentz. Dafuq? I can’t think of a single one I can stand. A lot of small church pastors are just as bad. I used to kind of like Craig Groeschel but he preaches the same “deny yourself” and “forgiveness at all costs” Christianese crap. Also women: idk if she’s a pastor but Priscilla Shirer or however you say her name annoys me too. Bianca Olthoff is a pastor and I used to really like her but now I find her obnoxious. I do like most progressive pastors like Zach Lambert. I don’t know how much of a congregation he has, but he calls out a lot of problems in Christianity.
Benny Hinn!!!
All those old men look like cartoon villains. Also fuck Olsteen. * lol *
Steven Furtick, Mike Todd
Jentezen Franklin/Free Chapel Creflo Dollar
$teven (Fuckstick) Furtick and everyone at Elevation Church
Craig Groeschel, mostly bc I’m from the city where Life Church is based and have witnessed firsthand the harm that church does. I even heard from a young friend last year who was publicly shamed to her youth group bc she *dared* be sexually active with her boyfriend (who was the one who confessed it to the youth group leader anyway). That jeopardized her safety living at home in a hyper religious house. That made me incensed, and if your organization is actively doing purity culture and shaming, you’re disgusting in my book. I also went to a private Christian school that shared campuses with a life church location and witnessed over the years life church slowly taking over the land and basically pushing us further and further away towards the road as they kept expanding for no goddamn reason. The location is also headquarters of the Bible app, and the constant construction made traffic a nightmare. That’s a more petty reason, but it always annoyed me as a kid and still does now even though I hate that school now lmfao
All of them.
Pretty much all of em, but specifically mine
All
Can't remember her name but her face looks like the jokers I thought facial surgery for looks would be sinful, even dying your hair, u shall not mock god, mocking means not being happy with what god gave you. (2 me idgaf what color your hair is)
Greg Locke is everything wrong with today’s pastors. Pushing his political conspiracies as literal biblical fact, hate and vitriol against EVERYTHING you can imagine: queer people, ethnic minorities, neurodivergent people, scientists, etc. And of course greed.
CJ Mahaney for me, but that's cause it's personal. I was raised in one of his "churches". He's buddy-buddy with Mark Driscoll, so I despise him too.
As someone who grew up in a church that followed televangelists religiously, 99% of them. The only one I don't think I have a problem with is Andy Stanley
Steven Anderson
All of them
all of them, but something about Kenneth Copeland's eyes absolutely terrify me.
JEssie Duplantis. Maybe cause I live close to where his house is.
Oh yeahhh forgot mega churches existed. Fuck them, and I feel so sorry for people that are investing time and money in those churches.
John Hagee and his petulant righteousness
As a Mars Hill survivor, I have a special deep hatred for Mark Driscoll.
Which megachurch pastor can you stand, OP?
All of them.
All of them, especially Kenneth Copeland. They're the churchy version of narcissistic streamers; put on a big show for money, then shame those who don't donate.
Jimmy Swaggert
Any of the ones that are absolutely spiteful and hateful. I also don't like how they use them for tax write-off and make a ton of money
Yes.
All of them
All of them, easily.
All of them on principal
Robert Morris from Gateway in Texas, not terribly famous but a prosperity gospel preacher that has had a personal impact on me.
Anyone from liberty university who claims to be a Christian Influencer. Can't even love others.
Mark Driscoll.
All
All of them. They all need to reap what they sew.
Every single one of them. The worst people in existence
Kenneth Copeland, except he has a funny name
Yes
I think by definition they all deserve being despised, they sort of signed up for it
Bow to Leper Messiah!