Are the Clueless, Tithing Pewsitters in the SBC Being Played As Suckers by Johnny Hunt and the Very Secretive North American Mission Board? Stop Giving Them Your Hard Earned Money.

Johnny Hunt: Creative Commons

“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who … has risen from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to a high position” (Jerome)


In May 2023, I wrote a stinging post about the wealth that Johnny Hunt has accumulated with the apparent help of the oblivious tithers in the SBC. Jerome, a Church Father, Said We Should Avoid ‘Like the Plague’ a Clergyman Who Becomes Wealthy in His Profession. Does This Apply to the SBC’s “Doctor” Johnny Hunt? 

I am downright disgusted at the number of pastors/clergy who use their positions to become wealthy. I also am suspicious of people who use the title of Doctor when it is an honorary “doctorate” from what one person called “dubious paper mills.” I am referring to Johnny Hunt, who, in my opinion, appears too smooth, too well-off, and too self-assured. There are other pastors in the SBC whose lives and ministries seem to mimic Hunt’s lifestyles. Let me be perfectly blunt. I did not intend to join an SBC church when we moved to North Carolina. I had my fill of rich, smooth-talking SBC pastors in Dallas. Names such as Robert Jeffress, Jack Graham, Ed Young Jr., and Paige Patterson come to mind. However, my kids wanted to attend a church many of their friends attended. So, against my better judgment, we joined because I thought the pastor looked like a straight shooter. He wasn’t. At the end of 7 years, I was brokenhearted and started this blog.

Over the years, I have begun to listen to that “inner light,” the way the Spirit speaks to me. And something tells me that Hunt is a gifted “preacher” who used his charisma to become wealthy, well-connected, and influential within the SBC. But, of course, most of you know the story. He was fingered in the Guidepost investigation for molesting an adult woman. He denies it while simultaneously saying that anything that happened was consensual. Here is a link to some of my posts on the matter.

You can read the post about his:

  • dubious title of “Doctor” appears to be derived from an earned honorary doctorate,
  • friendship with the disgusting Ravi Zacarias,
  • incredible wealth derived from 10 businesses with ties to the SBC,
  • family who are in on the earnings,
  •  “titles” in the SBC, which appear to have monetary value,
  • ties to the secretive North American Mission Board, which will not allow the ATMs sitting on their butts to see its finances,

Here is how I summed up the acts of this SBC “servant.”

Perhaps Johnny is one of those guys who didn’t come into the church to serve but used his talents to get what he wanted. I don’t see the self-titled “Doctor” Hunt as a faithful servant. Instead, it appears to this kitchen table blogger that he wound up being on the take. He found a system that served him. He is a person that I would avoid, like the plague. That’s what Jerome said. Memorize this and apply it liberally in your lives.

“Avoid, as you would the plague, a clergyman who … has risen from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to a high position” (Jerome)

You can read more about Hunt’s cash cows in ‘Pastor Johnny’, who is the head of a family empire that feeds off the SBC.

Johnny’s lawsuit against the SBC reveals the moola

Johnny has refused to settle his lawsuits against the SBC. He claims that they defamed him when Guidepost Solution called him out for molesting a woman in a hotel room. BNG posted New date set for Johnny Hunt trial.

Hunt’s claim against the SBC stems from him being named in the 2022 Guideposts report on the SBC Executive Committee’s mishandling of sexual abuse claims. At the time of the mutually acknowledged event — which the woman describes as an assault and Hunt describes as consensual sin — Hunt had just completed a two-year term as SBC president, which gave him a seat on the Executive Committee. Hunt claims he should not have been included in the Guideposts report because his situation falls outside the scope of what Guideposts was enlisted to investigate.

In his lawsuit, he lists all the money he would have made if the SBC had not allowed Guidepost to call him out.

Hunt, who was 71 years old when his claim was filed, contends he would have continued to work for another 11 years for the SBC North American Mission Board where he claims to have been paid $610,000 annually. That’s $6.7 million in future income he claims he lost when he was forced to resign over a sex scandal.

He also claims he lost $3.96 million in future book sales and $3.85 million in future speaking fees. And he seeks $880,000 in other lost income, along with $45 million for reputational harm and $45 million for emotional distress.

Did you see how much he made while working for the NAMB and doing everything else? $610,000/year, and he claims he would have stayed on for another 11 years, which would have put him at the age of 82!But he was making far more than that $610,000.

The SBC can’t afford the money involved in this lawsuit.

The total damages Hunt seeks from the SBC equals more than half the denomination’s annual Cooperative Program income of $190 million. Furthermore, giving to the denomination has been declining in recent years, and the Executive Committee itself has burned through most of its reserves investigating and responding to claims of sexual abuse.

Hunt, showing that it is all about the Benjamins, appears rather nonchalant for a man who “served” the SBC for so long.

The Louisiana Baptist Message reported on one of Hunt’s court depositions: “When pressed about the possibility that Cooperative Program dollars would have to be used to compensate him for his alleged damages, Hunt said he was ‘absolutely’ OK with that because ‘they have done a lot of damages.’”

The North American Mission Board is paying retired pastors $610,000/year if they can get a spot on the NAMB.

Many unsuspecting pewsitters have told me that their church joined the SBC (and, therefore, they are not “really Baptist”) to contribute to the missions program through the North American Mission Board. Do they understand that the NAMB appears to be a cash cow for pastors who want to take it slow since they are getting older? I wonder how they feel their hard-earned money is being used to prop up pastors who might wish to bring in the bucks in their retirement years.

While I’m at it, I want to know how much the NAMB president, Kevin Ezell, is being paid. He made an incredible bank off the SBC during his time with the Lifeway fiasco. So, if Johnny makes $610,000, I would not be surprised if Ezell is bringing in over $800,000. He may even be closer to a million. Didn’t he get close to that when he was at Lifeway? But they will never tell anyone, and the pew sitters are being told to keep giving to keep the guys in their bespoke suits.

And just in case you missed it, Johnny is making more money through all of his 10 companies.

Poor guy…he is experiencing all sorts of emotional distress and thinks $45 million will help him get de-stressed. Would that amount of money have helped Jesus feel better on the way to the Cross?

In the end

It is up to the pew-sitters to decide if they want to keep these guys in their Guccis. I think they are fools if they do so. But Johnny and company are sure grateful for their sacrifice.


Comments

Are the Clueless, Tithing Pewsitters in the SBC Being Played As Suckers by Johnny Hunt and the Very Secretive North American Mission Board? Stop Giving Them Your Hard Earned Money. — 73 Comments

  1. “So, if Johnny makes $610,000, I would not be surprised if Ezell is bringing in over $800,000. He may even be closer to a million. Didn’t he get close to that when he was at Lifeway? But they will never tell anyone, and the pew sitters are being told to keep giving to keep the guys in their bespoke suits.”

    The average Southern Baptist (there are millions of them in 47,000 churches) have no idea that the big whigs are raking in that kind of dough. If they did, they would think twice about dropping their hard-earned dollars into the offering plate … and asked to dig a little deeper to stuff envelopes to fund the Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (funds that are used to support the big-boys). Bad actors would have no stage if it weren’t for a gullible audience willing to buy tickets to the show.

    The SBC is done … it just hasn’t quit yet.

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  2. I continue to be without words the more I read your blog, Dee. I do not know how these pastors live with themselves. In my own church, I’ve witnessed professional beggars. I think there are legit missionaries coming through our church raising money, but I’m seeing some who aren’t, as well. It’s kind of sickening. Thank you for continuing to report on these types of people.

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  3. This is so gross…
    How is this any different from a mob boss shaking down the locals for “protection”? (Church membership and tithing = heaven to these guys. Pony up and you’re protected from eternal damnation.) I’d rather take my chances with a mafia boss than an SBC boss. I watched the Godfather, there seems to be more compassion towards widows, orphans, and women with the Costa Nostra.

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  4. Ava Aaronson: SBC pastoring is quite the gig. And SBC is not the only org scamming church goers/givers.

    Nearly half a century ago, I was the youngest woman (but still an adult) at a table of women in a small town in East Texas and engaging in small town gossip. One of the items of gossip was that the First Baptist of the town was auditioning for a new preacher. It was a Big Deal because the guy who got the position would get $30,000 a year and a rent-free parsonage. I remember all of us sitting there and saying “that’s a good living.”

    $610K is just so much money.

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  5. Going through college and in early years of ministry, I was fortunate to learn from some senior clergy that pastoral ministry is a significant responsibility and
    wonderful privilege. Here and now “blessings” were generally not a part of the conversation, but if so, it was around future assurance and the character of who gave the ‘blessing’ rather than the blessing itself.

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  6. I’m by no means an apologist for the SBC. I’ve been burned enough times in my life to always practice caution with powerful groups.

    However – as President Bush once said “Let us not judge others by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions”

    Continually painting groups with broad brushes (as is common in this blog and comments) can hurt the powerful minority voices that are needed to affect any change.

    Just a word of caution.

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  7. Ian Docker: I was fortunate to learn from some senior clergy that pastoral ministry is a significant responsibility and wonderful privilege.

    Not to mention that the New Testament itself screams that those set apart for Christian leadership are to serve the Body of Christ in humility, purity and holiness. There are no big bank accounts, mansions, frequent golf games, or trips to the spa mentioned in the compensation program. Too many pulpiteers do not live in the reality of what is expected of them in the Kingdom of God, on earth in the here and now.

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  8. Tyler: Continually painting groups with broad brushes (as is common in this blog and comments) can hurt the powerful minority voices that are needed to affect any change.

    It seems to me that the powerful minority are those who get paid the big bucks. It is my opinion that the poswerless majority are the ones being silenced. Instead of being cryptic, why don’t you speak to the post which is against the secretive NAMB. There is now proof for the salaries they are paying. The NAMB is a cash cow for the few like Hunt who can access their largesse.

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  9. Are the Clueless, Tithing Pewsitters in the SBC Being Played As Suckers by Johnny Hunt and the Very Secretive North American Mission Board?

    Is a Bear Catholic?
    Does the Pope crap in the woods?

    Over and over again, Christians have shown themselves to be the easiest of easy marks, the suckers of all suckers. All you need to do is invoke the proper Christianese cheat codes and they suck up to your every word and open their wallets and bank accounts. Even when they know they’re being taken to the cleaners.

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  10. Tyler: I’m by no means an apologist … Continually painting groups with broad brushes (as is common in this blog and comments)

    Oh, but you are an apologist when you criticize the work of this blog, when the “broad brushes” are used by commenters who have had direct experience with ministers and ministries which use and abuse … perhaps one of the “groups” you defend has been a frequent subject of TWW (New Calvinism perhaps?) … when Dee dissects Christian trends that impact your theology, does it disturb you? … when you “provide a word of caution”, I figure you really want to silence the information and warnings posted on this site about things that matter to you. Yep, you are most likely an apologist of something that needs to be addressed here and elsewhere until it is rooted out of the church.

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  11. I Love Truth!

    Psalm 35:6
    King James Version
    6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

    2 Thessalonians 2:10
    “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

    Philippians 3:15
    “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”

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  12. Johnny Hunt wrote a booklet about his life called “The Poolroom to the Pulpit.” I don’t think the poolroom ever left him. He preached a revival at my former Southern Baptist church in 1995, but he didn’t impress me.

    Old Testament tithe only applied to farmers and ranchers. II Corinthians 9:7 provide the current rules for giving. No pastor should have a standard of living greater than the average member of his church.

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  13. We have an interesting and closely related situation at my local mega-church.

    The church has an associated school in which 2/3 of the teachers are not certified, nor do they provide retirement or health-care benefits because they are too costly.

    However, my neighbor, a 30-year-old associate pastor (and son of the church founder/senior pastor), and his wife, a musical director at the church, drive matching G-Class Mercedes SUVs.

    I am curious how the parishioners reconcile the fact that teachers and staff are expected to work for significantly less than they could earn elsewhere because they are servants of God. At the same time, the senior pastor’s family members are paid much more than they could earn anywhere else.

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  14. Tyler,

    “Continually painting groups with broad brushes (as is common in this blog and comments) can hurt the powerful minority voices that are needed to affect any change.”
    +++++++++++++++++++

    a group that uses tithes and donations to pay people +/- $600,000 in salary deserves all criticisms it gets

    (especially when it is patently obvious the tithers believed that missionaries & folks in need would be the ones to benefit from their funds).

    no individual associated with this group is immune.

    if there are undercover ‘agents’ in this group working for change, they accept this consequence as part of the job.

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  15. Tyler,

    Yeah, I might have stretched it a bit there. I don’t really know your theological flavor. It’s just that TWW has experienced a lot of New Calvinists attack this blog for expressing concerns about the new reformers’ stealth and deception in taking over churches. They are causing a lot of heartache in the American church akin to spiritual abuse, so they end up as topics on TWW. I don’t really know where you stand in relation to the NeoCal movement, so apologize for that comment.

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  16. Muff Potter,

    Because no one knows how to evaluate a situation in another country and religious people tend to believe smooth talkers who come in the name of their religion. It’s also quite easy to make oneself look good thousands of miles from the place one actually lives and works. The number of people I know here overseas who make their ministries look good by “padding the truth” is significant.

    I’ve always told our supporters “If you want glowing reports every month all the time don’t support me because spiritual ministry has ups and downs and serious setbacks.” Accordingly I do not trust dude bros who look good all the time. They’re lying.

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  17. “At the time of the mutually acknowledged event — which the woman describes as an assault and Hunt describes as consensual sin …”

    The phrase “consensual sin” stood out for me in this sentence. There is currently discussion among Catholic moral theologians about the “classification,” so to speak, of sexually abusive behaviors, from verbal harassment to rape. Traditionally, these have been treated as sins against chastity – immoral sexual behavior – under the commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

    Some writers recently have proposed that, although the actions are sexual in form, the decisive element is abuse of power, and the wrong done is a violation of the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” with the emphasis on violence and violation of another person’s integrity and dignity.

    This is consistent with viewing all sexual interaction between a clergyperson and a congregant as a violation of the relationship and therefore a form of abuse. This eliminates the concept of “a consensual sin” from the evaluation.

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  18. Ian Docker: The gospel also is never honoured by complying to people of poor or dubious character no matter who they are or what skill set they may possess.

    But, isn’t it OK to overlook dubious character if they sure can preach? Isn’t it OK to ignore that pastor has been a bad-boy if he’s able to pack the house? Heck, with a touch of charisma, a gift of gab, and a bag of gimmicks, anyone (anyone!) can be a prosperous pastor in the American church! Just look at all of the successful bad-boy preachers who have been subjects of TWW posts!

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  19. “Southern Baptist pastoring is quite the gig.”
    *
    Today it is estimated that 60-65% of Southern Baptist churches are served by bivocational pastors.
    *
    Hmm, maybe being an SBC pastor isn’t actually the way to achieve wealth? But TWW commenters have their narrative; don’t let the facts get in the way.

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  20. senecagriggs:
    Today it is estimated that 60-65% of Southern Baptist churches are served by bivocational pastors.

    This 60-65% figure seems to come from Tom Ascol. I have not seen it used by anyone else.

    The latest official number from the 2005 Annual Church Profile of the Southern Baptist Convention lists 14,279 senior pastors, or 31 percent, as bivocational, volunteer, or part-time.

    There is nuance to this issue. There are many pastors making a decent or even below-average salary. In my area, it is very common for pastors in small, rural churches to serve two or even three churches to make ends meet.

    My local mega-church lists 45 pastors or worship directors, only 6 of are full time.

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  21. Cynthia W.: Golly!We would need to call everyone from the building handyman to the leader of the Spanish Baptism class a “pastor” to achieve that.

    Yes, one needs to get a little creative to come up with that many congregation-facing staff. For example, the person who manages the Sunday service nursery attendants is a ‘Director of Early Childhood Worship.’

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  22. Max: handful of elites and celebrities who use the church for personal gain.

    Boys making noise with ploys to get their toys. And, in this case, toys include playing with women and girls as a felon, CSA and CSA. Both and.

    My oh my, how some churchie$ gravitate to these boys making noise with their ploys to amass their toys. I suppose the churchie$ feel good about supporting these clowns because it gives everyone license to do whatever. Everyone jumps into the toxic soup together. Fellowship.

    How special, shiny, and iconic. “My pastor makes more noise and has more toys than your pastor. Moreover, he’s got the ploys, his secret sauce.”

    St. Francis of Assisi met with Pope Innocent III in Rome around 1210, about his calling to live the simple humble life as clergy. The Pope admitted to St. Francis that he himself had begun his life of service so inclined, but got sidetracked by the 4 Deadly Distractions: Honor, Power, Wealth, and Pleasure.

    It seems we have clergy today entrapped by these same 4: Honor, Power, Wealth, and Pleasure. They have lost their way.

    The Bible has much to say about their dilemma.

    Jesus said, “No,” to these 4, right from the jump when offered the 4 by satan in the wilderness. Jesus and His disciples never took up collections for their support. They were housed and fed in Jesus’s followers homes as they traveled. No fortunes were amassed. No dynasties established.

    Imagine how power, pleasure, wealth, and honor eat away at the very souls of leaders (and disciples) who succumb. Church ends up as the blind leading the blind.

    Let’s not end on this note.

    Whom have we heard of who did not give in to the 4? Brother Andrew, for one. Watchman Nee for another. Gladys Aylward. George Müller. The Casper ten Boom Family.

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  23. davewis,

    “My local mega-church lists 45 pastors or worship directors…”

    “For example, the person who manages the Sunday service nursery attendants is a ‘Director of Early Childhood Worship.’”
    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    my friends and family from a european country marvel (& chuckle) at how Americans take themselves sooooooo seriously.

    Amerian christians win the grand prize, though.

    someone should do a study on the history of ‘pastor’.

    i’m guessing it’s a relatively modern invention,

    that inflates as the monetizing of ministry continues to balloon with more and more symbiotic for-profit business relationships (all pretending to be ‘non-profits’).

    i don’t think the “reverend” from times past is the same thing at all.

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  24. elastigirl: that inflates as the monetizing of ministry continues to balloon with more and more symbiotic for-profit business relationships (all pretending to be ‘non-profits’).

    I’ve long held that religion should be taxed 10% off the top.
    It’s not fair that little Bill gets sodomized (so to speak) every April, and yet Big Bob is allowed to pocket tons of $greenbacks$ tax-free from his ‘mega-church’.

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  25. elastigirl,

    “i don’t think the “reverend” from times past is the same thing at all.”
    ++++++++++

    i’ve recently been exploring ancestry, looking at many marriage certificates, census records, etc. from the past. turns out many of my ancestors listed their occupation as “Minister Of The Gospel”.

    I also did some reading on the history of these groups.

    talk about modest.

    their mission was to preach the gospel to the poor while actively meeting their practical requirements.

    for example, organizing drives for food and suppplies for miners who faced “challenges such as privatization and lack of necessary resources.
    …a commitment to addressing both physical and spiritual needs”

    their own comfort was not part of the deal or their chosen occupation.

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  26. Muff Potter: How do otherwise rational and intelligent adults roll-over and lay down for this?

    Those who idolize and bankroll these characters … who raise them up to ivory towers of denominational leadership … are neither rational or intelligent (in my humble, but accurate, opinion). Considering this and a host of other issues in SBC (e.g., allowing New Calvinism to spread through their ranks unchallenged), Southern Baptists have proven to be some of the most gullible churchgoers on the planet. A touch of charisma, a gift of gab, and a few gimmicks will fool them everytime.

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  27. Muff Potter: How do otherwise rational and intelligent adults roll-over and lay down for this?

    Because … once you have been groomed to believe uncritically (for example) that the Virgin Birth of Christ is literally, materially (cheaply) true, rather than the beautiful, timeless, resonant, inspired mythology it actually is, you might believe anything if it makes you feel good?

    Just guessing.

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  28. Sandy: Because … once you have been groomed to believe uncritically (for example) that the Virgin Birth of Christ is literally, materially (cheaply) true, rather than the beautiful, timeless, resonant, inspired mythology it actually is, you might believe anything if it makes you feel good?

    As in a 66-volume gonzo narrative of God and Man becomes nothing more than a long boring checklist of Axiom, Axiom, Axiom, Fact, Fact, Fact and you search around for anything with some LIFE in it?

    It was said of NASA in the Seventies that “they took something exciting and wonderful and made it completely BORING.”

    And long-ago at Internet Monk, the original IM wrote and podcasted about loss of Mystery, Awe, and Otherness to where experiencing God became “something like being made to kiss your sister”.

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  29. Headless Unicorn Guy: something like being made to kiss your sister

    Sister won’t you please, please, please
    Little sister don’t you cheat on me
    Little sister don’t you kiss me once and twice
    Say it’s very nice and then you run
    Little sister don’t you do what your big sister done

    Well, now I used to pull your pigtails
    And I pinched your turned-up nose
    Baby you been a-growin’
    Yes, it’s been a-showin’
    From your head down to your toes

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