| Wescott Christian Center (WCC) - Official Creed |
|
| |
THE BIBLE is the Word of God, our
rule of faith & practice. |
|
| |
GOD is revealed
in 3 persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. |
|
| |
MAN is a sinner
by nature, until he is born again by the work of the Holy Spirit. |
|
| |
JESUS CHRIST,
born of the Virgin Mary, is the Son of God, Savior from sin. |
|
| |
SALVATION is
offered to mankind through repentance & faith in Jesus Christ. |
|
| |
WATER BAPTISM by
immersion is an outward sign of the work of God's Grace within. |
|
| |
THE HOLY SPIRIT
was sent by Jesus to bring man conviction of his need of salvation.
Jesus also promised that believers may be baptized in the Spirit. |
|
| |
JESUS CHRIST is
the Healer of our bodies, through faith. |
|
| |
THE LORD JESUS
promised He would return to earth, & there are many signs that His coming
will be soon. Till then Christians should live a holy & dedicated
life. |
|
|
|
|
| Claire Grace's Prophecy to Doc Melodyland, Anaheim, CA
(c1970) |
|
| |
1--WCC would get out of it's
present problem |
|
| |
2--Doc's ministry
would settle in 1 location |
|
| |
3--Doc's teaching
would be used as a compass point around the world as the Antichrist's message
would lead people astray |
|
| |
4--Miraculous
healings would be added to Doc's teaching ministry to counterbalance the
phony "Healing Evangelists" |
|
| |
5--A note of joy
would enter Doc's ministry |
|
|
|
|
| Timeline |
|
| Date |
Event |
|
| 02/23/1906 |
William Theodore [W T]
("Ted" or "Pop") Scott is born in Stone County, MO
[http://death-records.findthebest.com/l/214742135/William-Theodore-Scott] |
|
| 03/12/1911 |
Inez Leona Graves
("Mom" Scott) is born in Stone County, MO
[http://www.gravesfa.org/gen030.htm] |
|
| 04/04/1915 |
Hope Street
Church (HSC) opening day
[http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/HCMDatabase/images/323%20Church%20of%20the%20Open%20Door.pdf] |
|
| 12/31/1928 |
Mom & Pop
Scott are Married [http://www.gravesfa.org/gen030.htm] |
|
| 08/14/1929 |
Doc is born
(William Eugene Scott) in Buhl, Idaho
[http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/WORLD-OBITS/2005-05/1116013457] |
|
| 02/17/1935 |
First "Jesus
Saves" neon sign is erected on Hope Street Church (HSC)
[http://magazine.biola.edu/article/12-spring/jesus-saves-a-timeline/] |
|
| xx/xx/1935 |
Mom gives birth
to twins--baby girl dies in a few hours |
|
| xx/xx/1935 |
Baby boy dies a
month later--Mom's vision |
|
| |
Move to Gridley,
CA [http://www.ocweekly.com/2005-02-24/news/god-s-angriest-man/full/] |
|
| xx/xx/1935 |
Doc's family
moves to Oroville, CA |
|
| xx/xx/1936 |
Pop healed from
coma of Rheumatic Fever, has vision |
|
| |
Pop heads an
Assemblies of God church |
|
| xx/xx/1938 |
Second
"Jesus Saves" neon sign is erected on Hope Street Church (HSC) |
|
| xx/xx/1947 |
Doc plays
basketball at Oroville Union High School |
|
| |
Doc works as an
ice-truck driver |
|
| |
Doc becomes an
ordained minister |
|
| 07/xx/1947 |
Faith Center is
founded in Glendale, CA by Raymond Schoch |
|
| xx/xx/1948 |
Doc is ill
(Mumps), has vision, becomes sterile [Mumps at age 19 - "God's Angry
Man"] |
|
| xx/xx/1948 |
Doc enters Chico
State University |
|
| 06/xx/1949 |
Doc works as a
state inspector (bureaucrat) at a peach cannery |
|
| 08/xx/1949 |
Doc marries Betty
Ann Frazer (wife #1) |
|
| xx/xx/1952 |
Doc graduates
Chico State (BA - Major: History)
[http://www.seeking4truth.com/william_eugene_scott.htm] |
|
| 11/13/1956 |
KHOF-FM 99.5 Los
Angeles begins broadcasting
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Broadcasting_Network] |
|
| 04/xx/1957 |
Doc completes
thesis on Reinhold Niebuhr |
|
| xx/xx/1957 |
Doc receives
Ph.D. from Stanford University
[https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=34631] |
|
| |
Doc teaches at
Evangel College (now Evangel University), Springfield, MO |
|
| |
Doc attends Glad
Tidings Bible Institute in San Francisco, CA |
|
| |
Doc begins
missionary work for 15 years |
|
| xx/xx/1963 |
Doc helps Oral
Roberts raise funds for Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK |
|
| xx/xx/1964 |
Doc returns to
Oroville and founds Wescott Christian Center (WCC) [IRS records show founded
1964] |
|
| xx/xx/1965 |
Faith Center
moves to new Glendale Ave building |
|
| 10/12/1969 |
KHOF-TV 30 Los
Angeles begins broadcasting |
|
| |
Doc begins work
for Assemblies of God |
|
| xx/xx/1970 |
Doc resigns from
Assemblies of God |
|
| xx/xx/1970 |
Doc buys Sunset
Mausoleum in Berkeley, CA |
|
| |
Doc organizes GS
Travel Inc. travel agency |
|
| |
Wescott Christian
Center (WCC) purchases Dolores Press Inc. |
|
| 08/04/1974 |
KVOF-TV 38 begins
broadcasting in San Francisco, CA |
|
| 06/xx/1972 |
Doc divorces wife
#1 (Betty An Frazier) after 23 years (married in summer 1949)
[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.fan.gene-scott/1GIAfiECjVw] |
|
| |
Claire Grace
prophesies to Doc at Melodyland |
|
| 02/16/1972 |
Faith Center (FC)
acquires WHCT-TV in Hartford, CT |
|
| 11/xx/1975 |
Doc preaches as a
guest at Faith Center (FC) |
|
| xx/xx/1975 |
Doc's 16
conditional terms are unanimously accepted by 105 members of Faith Center
(FC) |
|
| 11/01/1975 |
Doc begins
pastorate at Faith Center (FC) |
|
| |
Fountain of Faith
completed |
|
| |
Faith Center
acquires Cathedral Chapel, Sunset Mausoleum |
|
| |
Wescott Christian
Center (WCC) acquires Reborn Foundation in San Paulo, Brazil |
|
| |
Doc fires Jim
Bakker |
|
| xx/xx/1976 |
Doc fires Schoch
and other Faith Center board members |
|
| 10/01/1975 |
Doc is president
of Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches (Oct 1975-July 1984)
[http://www.thefellowshiptoday.com/past-presidents/] |
|
| xx/xx/1976 |
Festival Of Faith
program Begins |
|
| xx/xx/1976 |
Los Angeles
County Tax Assessor attempts to seize control of Faith Center (FC) |
|
| xx/xx/1977 |
King's House
Numbers (KH-#) Instituted |
|
| xx/xx/1977 |
FCC battle begins
by former board member charges |
|
| xx/xx/1977 |
CA Attorney
General files lawsuit against Faith Center (FC) |
|
| xx/xx/1977 |
Faith Center
files $777,777,777.77 civil-rights violation lawsuit against Deputy Attorney
General William Abbey |
|
| xx/xx/1978 |
CA Attorney
General drops lawsuit against Faith Center (FC) |
|
| xx/xx/1978 |
Faith Center
drops lawsuit against Abbey |
|
| xx/xx/1979 |
Werner Hertzog
Films "God's Angry Man", released in 1981 |
|
| 07/20/1980 |
Richard Pryor
Burn Telethon
[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19800721&id=YbJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3QUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1471,2468741] |
|
| 08/26/1980 |
Doc is
instrumental in passing CA Petris Bill (SB1493) [http://hwarmstrong.com/ar/AR13.html] |
|
| xx/xx/1980 |
Phone lines are
increased from 15 to 30 |
|
| xx/xx/1980 |
FCC denies
KHOF-TV (channel 30) license renewal |
|
| 10/04/1981 |
Doc's final
Living Faith service |
|
| xx/xx/1983 |
Phone lines are
increased from 30 to 300 |
|
| |
Doc marries
Christine E. Shaw (wife #2) |
|
| 05/23/1983 |
Doc goes off TV
channel 30 (KHOF) in Los Angeles, CA (Midnight) |
|
| 07/04/1983 |
Doc goes on
satellite - Westar 5 11/1/83 - Faith Broadcast Network (FBN) becomes
University Network (UN) [The UN-Channel) |
|
| xx/xx/1983 |
Seating capacity
in KH1 is increased |
|
| xx/xx/1983 |
Phone lines are
increased from 100 to 300 |
|
| xx/xx/1983 |
King's Dish
Numbers (KD-#) Instituted |
|
| |
Doc-Star 1 (Lear
Jet) & Doc-Star 2 (DC-3) & 55 purchased |
|
| 09/01/1983 |
Festival of Faith
program renamed "The Dr. is In" |
|
| xx/xx/1984 |
Doc's Pad (Secret 1, 2 Oak Knoll Ter, Pasadena, CA 91106)
secured by $60k non-refundable down-payment outside of escrow |
|
| 01/20/1984 |
Doc returns to TV
channel 30 (KAGL) in Los Angeles, CA |
|
| |
Doc returns to
channel. 30 1-20-84 or 1-20-85 |
|
| 12/07/1984 |
Faith
Center sells WHCT TV station in Hartford, CT for $3,100,000 |
|
| 11/04/1984 |
Anniversary SS at
Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA |
|
| 12/30/1984 |
Secret-1 banquet
at Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles |
|
| 05/30/1985 |
Secret-1 (Doc's Pad, 2 Oak Knoll Ter, Pasadena, CA 91106)
closed escrow for $2M |
|
| 09/07/1985 |
Sabbath Service
in San Francisco, CA |
|
| 09/18/1985 |
King's Tithers
Numbers (KT-#) Instituted |
|
| xx/xx/1985 |
Doc goes off TV
channel 38 in San Francisco, CA |
|
| xx/xx/1985 |
Doc goes off 99.5
FM radio in Los Angeles, CA |
|
| 12/xx/1985 |
Secret-2 is
announced |
|
| xx/xx/1986 |
Doc begins to
sell paintings |
|
| xx/xx/1986 |
Doc buys Silver
Oaks Ranch (SOR) in Bradbury, CA as a tax-shelter from painting sales |
|
| 07/06/1986 |
First Sunday
Service at Hope Street Church (HSC) |
|
| xx/xx/1986 |
Doc declares, but
doesn't reveal Secret-3 |
|
| xx/xx/1986 |
Secret-4 is
announced |
|
| 01/09/1987 |
Save the Books
Telethon (thru 01-11-87)
[http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/gene-scott] |
|
| 02/22/1987 |
Hope Street
Church (HSC) gets Historical Designation |
|
| 03/22/1987 |
Doc invites news
media to film offering during final SS at Hope Street Church (HSC) |
|
| |
Phillipian Band
Numbers (PB-#) Instituted |
|
| |
Doc institutes
second Sunday Service offering |
|
| 01/01/1988 |
Hope Street
Church (HSC) is destroyed
[http://cityplanning.lacity.org/complan/HCM/dsp_hcm_result_City.cfm] |
|
| |
Doc buys
Highpoint Farms in Springfield, Kentucky |
|
| xx/xx/1989 |
Rose Bowl
Aquatics Center - Doc donates $430,000 (Groundbreaking 06/23/1988) |
|
| 04/15/1990 |
First Sunday
Service at Los Angeles University Cathedral (LAUC) |
|
| 08/30/1990 |
Pop Scott dies
[http://death-records.findthebest.com/l/214742135/William-Theodore-Scott] |
|
| 12/xx/1990 |
Secret-5 is
announced |
|
| 11/07/1991 |
Rembrandt Stolen
From LA University Cathedral (LAUC) |
|
| 11/xx/1991 |
Secret-6 is
announced |
|
| 02/27/1992 |
Rembrandt Stolen
From LA University Cathedral (LAUC) is recovered |
|
| |
Secret-7 is
announced |
|
| |
Doc institutes
Pass-System for entrance to Sunday Service |
|
| xx/xx/1993 |
Doc's broadcast
covers the globe thru Shortwave |
|
| |
World Band
Numbers (WB-#) Instituted |
|
| |
Doc dons clerical
collar & black minister's attire |
|
| xx/xx/1995 |
Doc divorces wife
#2 after 15 years |
|
| |
Doc marries wife
#3 (Melissa) |
|
| 04/21/1996 |
Doc's 1000th
Sunday Service (VF-1000) |
|
| |
Secret-8 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-9 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-10 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-11 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-12 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-13 is
announced |
|
| |
Secret-14 is
announced |
|
| 04/xx/1999 |
Mom Scott dies
(Memorial Service 04/11/1999) |
|
| 03/24/2002 |
Secret-15 is
announced |
|
| 02/21/2005 |
4:30 PM PST - Doc Passes Away |
|
|
|
|
| People - Associations |
|
| Associate Clergy |
|
| Jim Elliott - Music minister, Associate
pastor until about 1980 |
|
| Dan Chan - Associate pastor until about
1980 |
|
| Jack Chinn - WCC missionary work director
& Oroville church pastor |
|
| Staff |
|
| Joe Shackelford - Chief Engineer &
KHOF-FM Operations Manager |
|
| Peter Wrate - Sound engineer for many
years, occasional singer |
|
| Christine Shaw - TV producer for many years, Doc's personal secretary,
limo-driver, staff recruiter, Wife #2 [1982-1985] |
|
| Mick - TV producer, cameraman |
|
| Brad - Cameraman, Limo-driver |
|
| Gary - Assistant
(c1978) |
|
| Ron Kelly - KHOF
Station Manger |
|
| Larry - Sound
KH-1 (1977) |
|
| Larry Dudley -
KHOF-FM General Manager |
|
| Douglas Cramer -
KHOF-FM News Director |
|
| Mike Wakeman - Security, Cameraman,
Limo-driver |
|
| Joe Cortes -
Staff, Assistant to the President [VF-189] |
|
| Jim Castillo -
Security [VF-189] |
|
| Keith - Security
(African American) [VF-189] |
|
| Marc Travis - General staff |
|
| Ben Rodriguez - Chief usher for many
years, Board Member (Mike's father) |
|
| Mike Rodriguez - General staff (Ben's
son) |
|
| Melana James - Secretary, VOF telephone
coordinator |
|
|
Dr. Craig Lampe - Marketing consultant, Doc-Letter writer |
|
| Attorneys |
|
| Tom Bradley |
|
| Peter Esser |
|
| Bruce Henderson |
|
|
Edward (Ed) L. Masry |
|
| Translators |
|
| Spanish - Dan Summers |
|
| French - Dan Summers |
|
| German - Dan Summers |
|
| Portuguese - Jack Chinn |
|
| Portuguese - Unknown female |
|
| Japanese - Unknown female |
|
| Dutch - Unknown male |
|
| Horse Trainers |
|
| Silver Oaks Ranch |
|
| Linda Bivins |
|
| Jose Lopez |
|
| Liz Martin |
|
| Mike Martin |
|
| Highpoint Farm |
|
| Joe Smith |
|
| Roy Tuttle |
|
| Lupe Valencia |
|
| Consulting |
|
| Larry Hodge |
|
| Patty Milligan |
|
| Tom Moore |
|
| Bill Robinson |
|
| Political Allies |
|
| Richard Alatorre (LA City Councilman) |
|
| Willie Brown (SF Mayor) |
|
| Gilbert Lindsay (deceased LA City
Councilman) |
|
| Bill Paparian (Pasadena Mayor) |
|
| Joel Wachs (LA City Councilman) |
|
| Nate Holden (LA City Councilman) |
|
| Friends |
|
| Lodwrick Cook (Former CEO for ARCO, Doc's
friend) |
|
| Richard Murrion
(Pastor & Friend) |
|
|
|
|
| Evolution of the UN-band |
|
| The original "Festival Singers" (c1977-82): |
|
| Jake Hess (vocals) |
|
| Chris Hess (vocals) |
|
| Terry Ogle (piano) |
|
| Ron Spann (organ) |
|
| Somewhere around 1982-83 Terry, Jake, and Chris all left the
group The UN-Band was started around this time: |
|
| Ron Spann (vocals, piano & organ) |
|
| Sammy Lee (organ & piano, occasional vocals) |
|
| Dan Davidson (rhythm & lead guitars) |
|
| Leigh Copeland (bass guitar) |
|
| John Jordan (occasional vocals - chews gum while singing) |
|
| Grant Whitman/Chris Arnold (drums) |
|
| [2 Unknown ushers - sang with Peter on "Praisin' the
Lord-Damnin' the Devil" & "Same Time--Same Place"] |
|
| Later Changes |
|
| Ron left in late '84--early '85 |
|
| Grant left in 1984 then Chris left and was replaced by Jim on drums in Sept. '85 |
|
| Sammy left in late '85 and was replaced by Jim |
|
| Ron returned in early '86 & Jim returned to drums &
vocals |
|
| Tom joins in '86 on lead & steel guitars |
|
| John is excommunicated by Doc in Aug. '86 |
|
| Ed Wheeler occasionally fills in for Leigh |
|
| John is invited back by Doc in '87 |
|
| Ron left in Aug. '87 & Jim returned to piano |
|
| [Unknown keyboardist who joined in '87-'88] |
|
| Jim left in '88 or '89 |
|
| Joe Shackelford plays organ in '88 or '89 |
|
| [Unknown lead guitarist who joined in '91 or '92] |
|
| Jake returns in '92 or '93 |
|
| Ed replaces Leigh in '93 or '94 |
|
| Jake quits in '93 or '94 & John becomes permanent
vocalist |
|
| Toni joins on occasional vocals in '93 or '94 |
|
| Kimberly joins on occasional vocals in Jan '96 |
|
|
|
|
| Other Celebrities Mentioned By Doc |
|
| Glen Campbell - Country & Western singer/songwriter -
"Rhinestone Cowboy" |
|
| Lynda Carter - Actress - "Wonder Woman" |
|
| Zsa-Zsa Gabor - Actress |
|
| Merle Haggard - Country & Western singer/songwriter -
"Okie from Muskogee" |
|
| Jesse Jackson - Minister, Black Rights Activist -
"Rainbow Coalition" |
|
| Henry Kissinger - Former USA Secretary of State - "Nixon
Presidency" |
|
| Wes Parker - Professional Baseball Player, Sports Commentator
- "LA Dodgers" |
|
| Smokie Robinson - Singer - "Tears Of A Clown" |
|
| William Shatner - Actor - "Star Trek" |
|
|
|
|
| Acronyms & Abbreviations |
|
| A&H |
Aaron & Hur - Supporters of
Doc (similar to the way Aaron & Hur supported Moses' arms during a
battle) |
|
| ALR-# |
Annual List
Resurrection (number) - Designation for Annual List of Resurrection teaching
tapes |
|
| AM |
530-1620 kHz
radio channel |
|
| BSG |
the Belles of
Saint Gene - Female Equestrian Team |
|
| C-# |
Communion
(number) - Tape number designation for TTL teaching derived from an S-# |
|
| CA |
California |
|
| CIS |
Commonwealth of
Independent States (former Soviet Union) |
|
| CSL-# |
C.S. Lewis
(number) - Designation for C.S. Lewis topical teaching tapes |
|
| CT |
Connecticut |
|
| CT-# |
Cassette Tape
(number) - Tape number designation for early Wescott teaching tapes |
|
| DBIJ |
Difference
Between Israel / Judah - Frequent teaching topic |
|
| DN-# |
Doc Notes
(number) - Designation for Doc Notes derived from teaching tapes |
|
| DP |
Dolores Press - Publisher |
|
| DPI |
Dolores Press,
Inc. - Publisher |
|
| FBN |
Faith Broadcast
Network |
|
| FC |
Faith Center -
Original location for Sunday Service (1615 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, CA
91205) |
|
| FCC |
Federal
Communications Commission |
|
| FF |
Furious Fund |
|
| FFs |
FirstFruits |
|
| FM |
87.7-107.9 MHz
radio channel |
|
| GEL |
Gimlet-Eyed
Lobster - Cartoon that depicts lazy onlookers |
|
| GS |
Gene Scott |
|
| H-# |
Shalom Service
(number) - Designation for Shalom Service topical teaching tapes |
|
| HSC |
Hope
Street Church - Former location for Sunday Services (7/6/86-3/22/87) (550 So.
Hope St. LA 90071 - Now demolished) |
|
| IRS |
Internal Revenue
Service |
|
| KD-# |
King's Dish
(number) - Designation of a KH-# watching via satellite |
|
| KH-# |
King's House
(number) - Supporting location of Doc's ministry |
|
| KH1 |
King's House One
- Original Location for Sunday Services (1615 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, CA
91205) |
|
| KH1A |
King's House
One/A - Any location other than KH1 where Doc has held an SS such as
The Beverly Theatre, The Shrine Auditorium, Melodyland, etc. |
|
| KH2 |
King's House Two
- TV studio where Doc taught from throughout the week (730 East
Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205) |
|
| KHOF |
King's House Of
Faith - Designation for certain teaching tapes |
|
| KHOF |
King's House On
the Frontier- - A KH-# living in a remote location (prior to global broadcast
capability, received tapes of recent messages via mail) |
|
| KHOF-FM |
Call letters for
former station 99.5 FM in Los Angeles, CA |
|
| KHOF-TV |
Call letters for
former television Station, channel 30 in Los Angeles, CA (became KAGL) |
|
| KJV |
King James
Version - Doc's Bible of choice |
|
| KT-# |
King's Tither
(number)--Designation for a person who pledged to support Doc's ministry
with at least 10% of their income |
|
| LA |
Los Angeles, CA |
|
| LAUC |
Los Angeles
University Cathedral - Former location for Sunday Service (4/15/90-02/21/2005 ) (929 S
Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015) |
|
| LF-# |
Living Faith
(number) - Designation for Sunday evening teaching tapes |
|
| LFH-# |
Same as LF-#
except for "H" for messages based on Hebrews |
|
| LFR-# |
Same as LF-#
except for "R" for messages based on Romans |
|
| M-# |
Mom/Pop (number)
- Designation for teaching tapes by Mom Scott, Pop Scott or other special
guest |
|
| MS-# |
Miracle Service
(number) - Designation for Miracle Service teaching tapes |
|
| NT |
New Testament |
|
| OP |
Other
Publications |
|
| OT |
Old Testament |
|
| PB-# |
Philippian Band
(number) - Designation for a person who supported Doc's ministry thru thick
or thin (similar to the ancient Philippian Christians who supported Paul) |
|
| PN-# |
Pastoral Nugget
(number) - Designation for Pastoral Nugget topical teaching tapes |
|
| S-# |
Show (number) -
Designation for Festival teaching tapes |
|
| SF |
San Francisco, CA |
|
| SOR |
Silver Oaks Ranch
- Doc's stables located in Bradbury, CA |
|
| SS |
Sunday Service
(Officially from 11:00pm-1:00pm) |
|
| SW |
ShortWave - 3-30
MHz radio channel |
|
| TTL |
Table of The Lord
- Doc's Communion teaching |
|
| TV |
TeleVision |
|
| UN |
University
Network |
|
| USA |
United States of
America |
|
| UTC |
Universal Time
Code (0000 means Midnight) |
|
| VF-# |
Voice of Faith
(number) - Designation for Sunday Service teaching tapes |
|
| VFR-# |
Same as VF-#
except the "R" for messages based on Revelations |
|
| VOF |
Voice Of Faith -
Person who answered telephone calls & took messages for Doc |
|
| WB-# |
World Band
(number) - Designation for a person who listened to Doc via Shortwave Radio |
|
| WCC |
Wescott (W-illiam
E-ugene SCOTT) Christian Center
(Oroville, CA & Missionary children's orphanage in Brazil) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From: The Los
Angeles Times 7/10/94 |
|
|
|
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The Shock Jock of Televangelism |
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With Savvy Philanthropy and an In-Your-Face Style, |
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Dr. Gene Scott Has Generated a Lavish Lifestyle, |
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Powerful Friends in Los Angeles and a Fiercely |
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Loyal Global Following |
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By: Glenn F. Bunting; staff writer for The Times |
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TEXT: |
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ON ANY GIVEN
NIGHT, MILLIONS OF weary souls plop down on the |
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family-room couch, pick up the remote and scan the
airwaves in search of |
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infotainment. They skip past snapshots of Roseanne raiding
the refrigerator |
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and the Bundys swapping insults until a close-up of The
Face flashes on the |
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screen. |
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Partially
obscured by cigar smoke, the face appears puffed with rage |
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and ready to explode. Piercing blue eyes stare through
half-framed reading |
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specs and gold-rimmed shades, worn one on top of the
other. A mouthful of |
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perfectly aligned, pearl-white teeth sneers behind a wispy
beard. Shocking |
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white hair stands out each night from under assorted head
wear--a Stetson, |
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a Stanford cap, a crown, even a sombrero. |
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This bizarre
visage lures television viewers to Dr. Gene Scott, pastor |
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and supreme leader of the Los Angeles University
Cathedral. But it is his |
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provocative, profanity-laced monologues that keep them
tuning in. Scott's |
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eclectic broadcast mixes high-voltage Scripture and
obnoxious solicitations |
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(for money, naturally) with taped footage of his church's
world-champion |
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American saddlebred show horses prancing to the tunes of
Sinatra and |
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Springsteen. Toss in heavy doses of call-in hero worship
from South Africa |
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to Santa Barbara along with amusing commentary on current
events and the |
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result is a sort of religious Rush Limbaugh. |
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"Nuke 'em
in the name of Jesus!" Scott ranted during the Gulf War, |
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boasting that he was the only minister urging President
Bush to bomb Iraq. |
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Recently, after three years of extensive dental work,
Scott joked to his |
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congregation that "there'll be fewer weeks in 1994
that I come here wanting |
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to kill. So, get on the telephone!" |
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"Get on
the telephone!" is Scott's favorite bark. It's his way of |
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ordering the faithful to send cash. And send they do, more
than $1 million |
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a month, according to some estimates. Through the years,
the collections |
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have helped support Scott's lavish lifestyle--chauffeured
limousines, Lear |
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jet travel, a Pasadena mansion, 'round-the-clock bodyguard
protection and |
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scenic horse ranches in Kentucky and the San Gabriel
Valley. |
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At first blush,
w. euGene Scott, as he spells his name, seems miscast |
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as God's renegade salesman. The 64-year-old preacher's son
holds a Stanford |
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Ph.D., fancies himself an intellectual, a philosopher, an
avid bibliophile |
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and philanthropist. But a closer look reveals a
fascinatingly complex |
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character: Scott has no formal education in theology, an
enormous ego, |
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eccentric personality and extraordinarily diverse
interests. He is a |
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world-renowned stamp collector, an equestrian, painter and
hunter, and a |
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saxophonist who pokes fun at "honkers" like
President Clinton. He has been |
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lampooned on "Saturday Night Live" by comic
Robin Williams, profiled in the |
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documentary "God's Angry Man" and feted by some
of California's prominent |
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personalities. |
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Scott is hailed
by some community leaders for reviving the Christian |
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spirit in the City of Angels. While crime, homelessness,
graffiti and the |
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stench of the inner city have pushed other congregations
to the outer |
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suburbs, Scott relocated his Glendale church Downtown in
1986. Every Sunday |
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he attracts hundreds of worshipers from all over Southern
California to |
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hear his message in the historic United Artists Theater at
Broadway and |
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Olympic. His church spent $2 million to renovate the
classic Spanish Gothic |
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theater, established in 1927 by Hollywood luminaries Mary
Pickford, Charles |
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Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, and today, the cathedral
rooftop carries the |
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same neon red "Jesus Saves" signs that for
decades towered over the city's |
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skyline a few blocks away on Hope Street. |
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For all his
achievements, Scott remains misunderstood and the subject |
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of much ridicule. His wealth and notoriety, coupled with
his spirited |
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defense of the Resurrection lead skeptics to dismiss him
as just another |
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greedy, Bible-thumping televangelist. But nothing
infuriates Scott more |
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than to be lumped with the likes of Jerry Falwell, Jim
Bakker and Jimmy |
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Swaggart. |
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"In every
way possible within the boundaries of God's word, I have |
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tried to separate from the television evangelists'
image," Scott tells his |
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congregation. Television evangelist "has become a
word that can only become |
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analogized to nigger, kike, beaner and other epithets
designed to demean |
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and create a perceptual set of a lesser-quality
being." |
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Few quarrel
with Scott's insistence that he occupies a planet all his |
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own in the universe of electronic ministry. Within the
mainstream of |
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religious broadcasters, largely made up of conservative
evangelicals like |
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the Rev. Billy Graham, Scott is regarded as unique.
Indeed, he is unusual |
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even among the many zany characters who operate on the
fringe of |
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televangelism. Who else spreads God's word so fervently
while smoking a fat |
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cigar and cursing his rivals? Or advises his followers
that they don't have |
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to go to church on Sunday to be a Christian? Now that his
church's |
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broadcasting enterprise--the University Network--spans the
globe, Scott |
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claims the world as his parish. |
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It comes as no
surprise that Scott attracts more than his share of |
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critics. They portray him as a paranoid, vindictive
iconoclast who leads a |
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flock of rebellious followers. Scott, they are quick to
point out, is |
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accountable only to himself, tolerates zero dissent and
exerts a |
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frightening level of control over his followers. |
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"He
refuses to put himself in a position where he can be criticized," |
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says David Gill, a professor of Christian ethics at North
Park College in |
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Chicago, who has observed Scott. "Instead, he
surrounds himself with all |
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these sycophants and weaklings who are just looking for
somebody to submit |
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to." |
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Scott provides
a form of drive-by religion for the '90s to a transient |
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population that needs only to watch television and send in
cash to be |
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counted among the faithful. But Scott preaches no easy
gospel; the fiery |
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pastor guides his congregation each Sunday through two
hours of intense |
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analysis that focuses on his own distinctive
interpretation of Scripture. |
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"I came to
town 18 years ago and said I'm looking for the uncommon man |
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or woman," Scott explains. "I'm not here to
transplant saints. If you just |
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want an ordinary church, pick up the Yellow Pages and find
the closest one |
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to you." |
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ON A GORGEOUS
FEBRUARY AFTERNOON, NINE top officials from the Glendale |
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Adventist Medical Center arrive at a lavish estate in
Pasadena with no idea |
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what awaits behind the heavy iron gates. Upon entering the
meticulously |
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landscaped grounds, they are screened by a guard who
carefully checks each |
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of their names against a formal guest list. |
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Scott is
entertaining the Adventists to show his appreciation for the |
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care his 82-year-old mother received after falling and
breaking both wrists |
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and a leg. The hospital staff had accommodated Scott's
daily midnight |
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visits and his entourage of security men, personal
physicians and other |
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aides. |
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During the next
three hours, Scott conducts a tour of his church's |
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"Sistine Chapel"--an underground,
climate-controlled museum that includes |
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an original Rembrandt and Monet displayed among the
pastor's own paintings. |
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The visitors are treated to an exquisite five-course
luncheon catered and |
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served by trendy Marino's of Melrose Avenue. They are left
speechless when |
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Scott offers to contribute $20,000 to a hospital
fund-raising drive to |
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obtain new surgical equipment. They are dazzled by Scott's
riveting life |
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story, witty charm and encyclopedic mind, later describing
him as |
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"sensitive," "urbane,"
"humorous," "thoughtful" and "humble." For some |
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guests, it is difficult reconciling this version of Scott
with the same |
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personality who appears so wacky on TV. |
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"People
started walking away feeling they had been in the presence of a |
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Renaissance man," extols David R. Igler, a hospital
vice president. "It was |
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kind of like being with a Leonardo da Vinci. I don't think
I've ever had an |
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encounter or experience like that in my life." |
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Igler offered
to recount his impressions of the visit at the request of |
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L.A. City Councilman Richard Alatorre, a close friend of
Scott and a loyal |
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supporter. "Have you talked with him?" Igler
inquired, the amazement in his |
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voice suggesting that I, too, would be in awe after
meeting the Renaissance |
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man. |
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For months, I
had tried to interview Scott. I had called his church's |
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toll-free hot line to make a mandatory reservation for his
Sunday service. |
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A volunteer, called a "Voice of Faith,"
answered, and she noted my name and |
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asked for my "King's House" number, which
identifies all dues-paying |
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members. She also asked whether I had ever attended
Scott's service. When I |
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told her I had no ID number and that I had never been
before, she |
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apologized and said it was unlikely a visit could be
arranged. (But others |
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have easily made reservations.) |
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I drove to the
University Cathedral anyway, parking in a vacant lot |
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across the street from the rear of the church. I couldn't
help but notice |
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several middle-aged men in polyester suits with worried
looks painted on |
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their faces and two-way radios plugged into their ears.
They were members |
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of the church's vaunted security detail, which includes
off-duty Los |
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Angeles cops paid to protect Scott, his congregation and
their Downtown |
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property. The heavy security is necessary, Scott contends,
because the |
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church "has a lot of valuables, including my
life." |
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Within minutes,
one guard retrieved a pair of binoculars and began |
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looking my way. Another guard walked up to my car and
jotted down the |
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license plate number. A third, with long red hair tied in
a ponytail, |
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approached and stood within a few feet of the driver's
side door, watching |
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over me. |
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I left my car
and walked around the block to the front entrance of the |
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cathedral, where I encountered the same ponytailed guard,
arms crossed and |
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chest expanded. I kept walking. The church's lawyer had
cautioned me |
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against sneaking into the cathedral if I wanted to land an
interview with |
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Scott. |
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On a subsequent
Sunday, the security crew threatened a photographer who |
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showed up outside the church to take photographs for this
article. Police |
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were called to the scene when one of the guards repeatedly
shouted |
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obscenities. |
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I never did get
to meet Scott, shake his hand or pose a question in |
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person despite repeated attempts. "Gene Scott has no
intention of |
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responding to any questions regarding church finances and
Dr. Scott |
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personally," the pastor comments. All the quotations
from Scott in this |
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article come either from taped broadcasts of his programs
or written |
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responses passed through a church lawyer. |
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At my request,
Scott furnished five references for me to interview. All |
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were certifiable big shots who used superlatives to
describe Scott while |
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glossing over his idiosyncrasies. A "brilliant
fellow," raved Lodwrick |
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Cook, the ARCO chairman. "Extraordinarily
bright," glowed Mark Pisano, |
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executive director of the Southern California Association
of Governments. |
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"He is a very, very bright, intelligent man,"
lauded Los Angeles City |
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Councilman Joel Wachs. "He is caring. He is committed
to the city. He is |
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honest," praised Alatorre. |
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None could top
the gushing of California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown: |
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"I think he is one of the most interesting public
figures in California. He |
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is an extraordinarily brilliant person. His skills at
communicating are |
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probably equal to anybody that we currently know and may
ever know." |
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Each of the
five men had been exposed to Scott's charm and witnessed |
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his extreme generosity. When Cook helped lead the
"Save the Books" campaign |
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after the Downtown Central Library fires, Scott organized
a telethon that |
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raised $2 million in pledges. As a fellow director of the
Rose Bowl |
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Aquatics Center in Pasadena, Pisano appreciated Scott for
rescuing the |
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nonprofit swim facility with cash donations exceeding
$430,000. When Wachs |
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wanted to rally support for his mayoral candidacy last
year, Scott arranged |
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for him to address his congregation on television.
Whenever Alatorre needs |
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a contribution to a worthy cause in his district, Scott is
"always there" |
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to chip in. And when Brown's VIP friends visit Los
Angeles, Scott gladly |
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furnishes a church limo. |
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A relentless
self-promoter, Scott adroitly uses his church's charitable |
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contributions and his association with personalities to
boost his ministry. |
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Compliments from Cook and former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley,
among others, have |
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appeared in full-page newspaper ads touting the minister
and his church. |
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When Scott wanted to establish his good character during a
1990 court |
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battle, he did not hesitate to drop the names of Bradley
and others in |
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legal papers. |
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Scott maintains
that his church contributes only to charities that city |
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officials recommend for the community good. Asked whether
he uses friends |
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in high places to help legitimize his church, Scott
responds: "The question |
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is an insult to me, the (church) and my friends. We were
never |
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illegitimate." |
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Nonetheless the
hard sell does not make a believer of everyone. The |
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Rev. Dale O. Wolery became acquainted with Scott in 1985
before the Church |
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of the Open Door, of which he was assistant pastor, sold
its historic |
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Downtown cathedral to Scott's congregation for $23
million. Wolery had |
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spent a good deal of time in Scott's company. But after
Scott reneged on |
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the deal, involving the church in protracted lawsuits,
Wolery came to view |
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Scott as a manipulator and a showman. |
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"I don't
like what he stands for," concludes Wolery, currently senior |
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pastor at North Community Church in Yorba Linda. "A
side of him is |
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engaging, warm. He knows how to make you feel good. He is
dangerous |
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primarily because he really comes off as a straight
shooter. He is the |
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ultimate hypocrite." |
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AT AN EARLY
AGE, SCOTT BECAME WELL VERSED IN THE HIGHER POWER OF |
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religion. The son of a traveling preacher and his teen-age
wife, he was |
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born on Aug. 14, 1929, in Buhl, Ida. When Scott was 6, his
mother gave |
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birth to premature twins, and the girl died within hours.
The following |
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month, the baby boy was asleep and young Gene was
suffering convulsions |
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when their mother had a vision of angels coming. |
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"I saw a
stairway begin to roll down from heaven and come right down to |
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the side of my bed," Inez Leona Graves Scott recalled
in a 1980 interview. |
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"Two angels walked down and they stopped in front of
Gene. I said, 'Oh no, |
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Lord, you can't take Gene!' and they just went around him
and picked the |
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baby up." |
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The infant died
but Gene was spared. From then on, his parents knew |
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their surviving child was special. Shortly thereafter, the
family moved to |
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the Northern California town of Gridley when W.T. Scott
agreed to head an |
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Assemblies of God church. He succeeded a pastor who
crucified himself on a |
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tree trying to imitate the marks of Christ. "At that
time, the people like |
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my dad were the cults, the kooks and the nuts," Scott
once told an |
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interviewer. |
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In elementary
school, Scott proved to be an exceptional student. |
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Accompanying a straight-A, seventh-grade report card was a
teacher's note |
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to his parents: "Do you know you have a genius for a
son?" He played on the |
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high school basketball team, though his father's
congregation did not |
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approve of the boy exposing his legs in public. The
caption under Scott's |
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photo in the 1947 Oroville Union High School yearbook
read, "Always a |
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good-natured fellow." |
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Scott married
his high school sweetheart, Betty Ann Frazer, in the |
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early 1950s. They had no children and were divorced 23
years later. On his |
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program, Scott has portrayed her as the "devil's
sister. I hate her. If I |
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go to heaven and she's there, I'm going to another
planet." Scott's second |
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wife, Christine E. Shaw, a stunning woman 20 years his
junior, can be seen |
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nightly on his program riding the church's champion show
horses. Trained in |
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ballet for 16 years, Shaw shares Scott's passion for art,
stamps, coins and |
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other collectibles. |
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A pivotal point
in Scott's life came when he enrolled in a doctorate |
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program in philosophy of education at Stanford University.
One professor |
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was a leading disciple of Reinhold Niebuhr, and Scott's
dissertation on the |
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American philosopher left an indelible mark on him.
Quoting Niebuhr, Scott |
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described his life's goal: to "descend from the
anthill of scholastic |
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hair-splitting to help the world of men regulate its
common life and |
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discipline, its ambitions and ideals." Like Niebuhr,
Scott believed that |
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this could not be accomplished without religion. |
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At Stanford,
Scott stood out as a loner who was almost single-minded in |
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his quest to excel academically. After earning his
doctorate in 1957, he |
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taught briefly at a Midwestern Bible college, helped Oral
Roberts establish |
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a university in Tulsa, Okla., and joined the Assemblies of
God movement, a |
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fundamentalist Christian denomination, where he quickly
established himself |
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as a rising star. Scott traveled all over the world
preaching salvation to |
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rapt audiences and designed a Sunday school curriculum
that significantly |
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boosted church membership. |
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"He had
one of the sharpest, keenest minds of anyone I have ever |
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known," recalls the Rev. William Vickery,
superintendent emeritus of the |
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Assemblies of God Northern California and Nevada District.
But it was only |
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a matter of time before the restless Scott would "go
free in order to be |
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creative and relevant to today's world." |
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In 1970, Scott
resigned his Assemblies of God credential in good |
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standing and returned to Oroville to launch his own
ministry with his |
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father. Today, Assemblies of God officials are stunned by
what they see and |
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hear on Scott's program. "I just can't imagine
someone with his brilliance |
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and abilities allowing his energies to be diverted the way
they have been |
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diverted," says a perplexed Vickery. "I don't
understand it. I think it is |
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such a waste." |
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It was while
serving his Oroville ministry that Scott was approached |
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about taking over the 45-year-old Faith Center Church in
Glendale along |
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with its four broadcast stations and $3.5-million debt.
Scott, who also had |
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established himself as a shrewd entrepreneur, agreed to
serve as Faith |
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Center pastor provided that church leaders resign and
approve a |
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reorganization plan that gave him control. To Scott's
amazement, the church |
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accepted. |
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Faith Center
since has expanded and prospered. A congregation that |
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numbered 500 when Scott took over in 1975 has mushroomed
to more than |
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15,000 members in the Los Angeles area, according to
church estimates that |
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are difficult to confirm. The church acquired the ultimate
power address: |
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P.O. Box 1, Los Angeles. And in 1983, the University
Network launched |
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24-hour-a-day broadcasts of Scott sermons via satellite to
North America |
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and much of Mexico and the Caribbean. |
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But soon after,
Scott endured two financial disasters that would have |
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placed most pastors in peril of losing their jobs. In
1983, the Federal |
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Communications Commission stripped the church of three
broadcast stations, |
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worth approximately $15 million, after Scott refused to
turn over financial |
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records as part of an investigation. (The church sold the
fourth station.) |
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In 1987, the church lost a $6.5-million deposit when Scott
sought |
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unsuccessfully to renege on a deal to buy the historic
Church of the Open |
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Door building in Downtown Los Angeles, which was later
demolished after its |
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owners sold it to developers. The church then pumped more
than $2 million |
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into renovating its current location, the United Artists
Theater. |
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The setbacks
only made Scott more determined to succeed. After the |
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church lost its broadcast licenses, Scott continued to air
his program by |
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buying time on local and cable TV stations locally and
nationally. Scott's |
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church not only offered programming to an
already-established network of |
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outlets, but continued to air its program on some of the
same stations that |
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were taken away by the FCC. The church also beamed its
programming |
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|
nationwide via satellite. By 1990, it reached 180
countries. Two years |
|
|
later, his ministry could be picked up anywhere in the
world in four |
|
|
languages on medium- and short-wave radio. (His program is
now seen nightly |
|
|
in greater Los Angeles on cable.) |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott claims
that he did not seek out an electronic ministry, but |
|
|
happened to rescue the first church in the nation to own a
Christian TV |
|
|
station. In a three-piece suit, the clean-cut Scott looked
the part of the |
|
|
stereotypical televangelist when he first hit the
airwaves. But it did not |
|
|
take long for him to realize that he needed a shtick.
Enter the long hair |
|
|
and beard, crazy hats and cigars. "The cigar lets you
know I ain't no Jimmy |
|
|
Swaggart," he howls. |
|
|
|
|
|
He quickly
earned a reputation as a colorful preacher whose blunt |
|
|
tactics both attract and offend his audience. He bragged
over the air that |
|
|
he could "probably teach Hugh Hefner a thing or
two" about sex and told |
|
|
those who refused to send money to "vomit on yourself
with your head up in |
|
|
the air." |
|
|
|
|
|
This
unconventional approach, while widely chastised in religious |
|
|
broadcasting circles, impressed people like the Rev. Jess
Moody, a Baptist |
|
|
minister and pastor of Shepherd of the Hills church in
Porter Ranch. Moody |
|
|
is an unabashed Scott admirer who wishes he had such
nerve. |
|
|
|
|
|
"The man
is not a fool, but he acts like one from time to time," Moody |
|
|
observes. "That, I think, is designed to get
attention from people he wants |
|
|
to reach. Apostle Paul said, 'I am all things to all men
that I might win |
|
|
some.' Gene is trying to win people to Christ, and he is
not doing it in |
|
|
the standard way." |
|
|
|
|
|
To attract new
viewers, Scott later decided that his church needed a TV |
|
|
sports franchise, something comparable to Ted Turner's
Atlanta Braves. |
|
|
Enter the equestrian team. "There are so many horses'
asses on television |
|
|
that I wanted to show the world what a whole horse looked
like," Scott is |
|
|
fond of saying. |
|
|
|
|
|
Using proceeds
from the sale of his art prints, Dr. Gene Scott Inc. |
|
|
acquired the Silver Oaks Ranch in Bradbury, valued at $11
million in 1989, |
|
|
and a stable of more than 100 show horses that are now
believed to be worth |
|
|
millions. |
|
|
|
|
|
First-time
viewers "stop to see the horses because they are a class |
|
|
act," Scott told viewers in January. "And before
they know it, this |
|
|
cigar-smokin' preacher is talkin' about something a little
different than a |
|
|
rantin'-and-ravin', hellfire-and-brimstone hypocrite
preacher. And they |
|
|
stop to see the horses and end up hooked on the teachin'.
That's it. All |
|
|
you get on this network is me and the horses and the
music. Clear?" |
|
|
|
|
|
"Clear!" his volunteers shouted obediently from behind
studio phone |
|
|
banks. |
|
|
|
|
|
"Just
thought I'd say that. Get on the telephone!" |
|
|
|
|
|
In response,
callers from around the globe phone in to applaud their |
|
|
pastor. Scott delights in selectively reading the
laudatory messages aloud. |
|
|
|
|
|
"From
Manchester, Ohio: I love the teachin', the horses and the music. |
|
|
It's the best on TV. Apple Valley, Calif.: Pastor, God's
word, you and the |
|
|
horses are all I need. Klamath Falls, Ore.: We got the No.
1 pastor smokin' |
|
|
the No. 1 cigar on the No. 1 television program showin'
the No. 1 horses." |
|
|
|
|
|
IN JANUARY,
1991, MEMBERS OF THE LOS ANGELES University Cathedral |
|
|
received an urgent appeal in the mail. Their pastor needed
them to dig deep |
|
|
for a special fund-raising drive so critical to the
church's future that it |
|
|
could not be revealed how the money would be spent. |
|
|
|
|
|
It was not the
first time. Scott has instructed his followers to give |
|
|
generously to anonymous fund-raisers on at least six other
occasions. This |
|
|
one, called "Secret V," was the church's most
ambitious fund-raising |
|
|
mission yet. By Easter, Scott wrote, his ministry had to
receive $10,000 |
|
|
apiece from 700 followers and a minimum $1,000 apiece from
3,000 |
|
|
supporters, for a total of $10 million. |
|
|
|
|
|
Estimates vary
on the total amount of money Scott brings in. During a |
|
|
recent sermon, he claimed that his members set "the
world record in |
|
|
per-capita giving" by donating $350 per person per
month. He also has said |
|
|
that his weekly budget of $300,000 does not come close to
meeting the rent, |
|
|
payroll, broadcasting and other operating expenses. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott insists
that he only accepts financial support from individuals |
|
|
who respond to his sermons. "People are taught to
give based on what they |
|
|
think the teaching they receive is worth," he
stresses. |
|
|
|
|
|
The price of
membership is steep. For starters, Scott expects the usual |
|
|
10% of his followers' income in weekly tithings. Since
1988, at the start |
|
|
of each year, Scott has reminded his followers that he is
collecting |
|
|
"firstfruits" above and beyond weekly donations.
Firstfruits, according to |
|
|
Scott, is spelled out in Scripture as "the firstfruit
of the new year |
|
|
belongs to the Lord." The firstfruits check includes
the first returns on |
|
|
any form of income--an investment, a pay raise, a second
job, a tax refund, |
|
|
even Lotto winnings. What if you're out of work?
"Well then, you give the |
|
|
first week's unemployment check," Scott advises. |
|
|
|
|
|
For non-givers,
Scott warns: "If you get too smart with God, He might |
|
|
let you live this next year without Him so you can see the
difference." |
|
|
|
|
|
While raking in
uncounted millions, Scott refuses to open his church's |
|
|
books to the scrutiny of independent auditors or follow
accounting |
|
|
safeguards required by the 700-member National Religious
Broadcasters, a |
|
|
group Scott derides as "Not Real Bright" for
inviting as a speaker |
|
|
televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who was disgraced by a sex
scandal in 1988. |
|
|
Such devastating scandals had cast a pall over
televangelists nationwide, |
|
|
but the industry appears to be on the rebound. Former NRB
chairman David |
|
|
Clark says he is encouraged by recent trends in religious
programming that |
|
|
emphasize ministry and teaching in place of "glitz,
glamour and hype." |
|
|
|
|
|
"This year
marks the end of the televangelist scandals and the impact |
|
|
from them is basically over," Clark says. A recent
study of religious |
|
|
programming found that on-air fund-raising and promotional
activities have |
|
|
fallen to the same levels as before the Swaggart scandal. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott, like a
number of other televangelists around the country, is not |
|
|
rushing to join the NRB, which requires organizations to
undergo |
|
|
independent financial audits annually, publish a yearly
report of income |
|
|
and expenses and disclose total compensation packages of
top church |
|
|
officials. He is, says Clark, one of a fading breed.
"I see a move away |
|
|
from the entrepreneurial, Lone Ranger guy like him
(Scott). I think the |
|
|
next generation will be pastors of mega-churches with
thousands of members |
|
|
and budgets of $8 (million) to $10 million a year,
minimum." |
|
|
|
|
|
Still Scott
thrives, with a church he says is accountable to God, his |
|
|
congregation, a board of directors he declines to identify
and the Full |
|
|
Gospel Fellowship of Churches and Ministries, of which he
was president. |
|
|
Such lax financial accountability--combined with Scott's
lifestyle--has, in |
|
|
the past, attracted the attention of state and federal
investigators. |
|
|
|
|
|
The California
Attorney General's Office in 1978 investigated |
|
|
allegations of fraud at Scott's church and 11 other
religious |
|
|
organizations. The probe, launched after complaints by
church members, was |
|
|
dropped in 1980 when the state Legislature passed a law
preventing the |
|
|
attorney general from prosecuting cases of civil fraud
against tax-exempt |
|
|
religious organizations. |
|
|
|
|
|
In 1977, the
Federal Communications Commission opened an exhaustive |
|
|
investigation after former employees accused Scott of
diverting donations |
|
|
of cash, furs, jewelry, stock and other valuables for his
own use and |
|
|
concealing assets in Swiss bank accounts. The allegations
were never |
|
|
proved, and Scott adamantly denies any improprieties. |
|
|
|
|
|
He stymied
repeated attempts by the federal government to scrutinize |
|
|
his church's financial operation by directing contributors
to sign pledge |
|
|
slips that specifically stated Scott could spend the money
however he |
|
|
pleased. This arrangement did not appear to affect the
church's flow of |
|
|
funds. |
|
|
|
|
|
"He can do
anything he wants with the contributions I send him," allows |
|
|
Mike Parker, the former mayor of Tacoma, Wash., who has
been watching Scott |
|
|
for a decade and donates weekly. It is virtually impossible to know how |
|
|
financial resources are divided among Scott, the church
and their many |
|
|
corporations. The church's financial empire consists of a
complex web of |
|
|
dozens of interlocking companies, among them Bishop Dr.
Gene Scott Corp., |
|
|
Dr. Gene Scott Inc., Dr. Gene Scott Consultants Inc., Gene
Scott Travel |
|
|
Inc., W. Eugene Scott, Ph.D., Inc., Gene Scott
Evangelistic Assn. and |
|
|
Wescott Christian Center. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott's second
wife, for example, received a $190,000 finder's fee when |
|
|
Dr. Gene Scott Inc. purchased the Silver Oaks Ranch in
Bradbury. At the |
|
|
time, Christine Shaw's personal fortune included several
million dollars |
|
|
worth of horses, stamps, art and vintage cars--the same
items accumulated |
|
|
by Scott and his church. |
|
|
|
|
|
For his part,
Scott maintains that he has no property, investments, |
|
|
stocks or bonds and that everything he owns is in the name
of the church. |
|
|
His contract calls for a $1 annual salary, plus unlimited
expenses. |
|
|
|
|
|
"God knows
how much money he has raised over the years soliciting |
|
|
funds," complains Chuck Dziedzic, the FCC
administrator who spearheaded the |
|
|
investigation of Scott's church. "We never came close
to finding out. I |
|
|
don't think anybody knows but him." |
|
|
|
|
|
RON CAREY
REGULARLY ATTENDS CATHOLIC MASS AT CHRIST THE KING Church in |
|
|
Hancock Park. But the 58-year-old actor, known best for
his role as Levitt |
|
|
in the television sitcom "Barney Miller," often
attends services on |
|
|
Saturday evenings. That's because Sundays belong to Gene
Scott. |
|
|
|
|
|
"I have
learned more from him than anybody," Carey says. "He is |
|
|
probably the authority on St. Paul. We just read the Bible
and look at it. |
|
|
He will go right down to the word. This is interpretation.
This is |
|
|
knowledge." |
|
|
|
|
|
Like Carey,
many of Scott's followers belong to other denominations. |
|
|
They assert that no one on the religious scene today
approaches Scott's |
|
|
intellect and expertise when it comes to interpreting
God's word. His |
|
|
analysis of Scripture relies heavily on Greek, Hebrew and
German studies to |
|
|
clarify inaccuracies in the English translation. This is
evident on Easter |
|
|
Sundays, when Scott presents a defense of the Resurrection
that is rich in |
|
|
detail, well researched and supported by historical facts,
followers say. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott's quarrel
with those who deny the Resurrection is that they don't |
|
|
spend enough time looking at it. "If this is true,
this is the central fact |
|
|
of history!" he fumes. "You gotta be a fool
among all fools of mankind to |
|
|
not think it's worth at least 30 hours of study in your
whole life. That's |
|
|
why I'm doing this." |
|
|
|
|
|
During his
Sunday sermons, Scott often admonishes his congregation not |
|
|
to seek God's blessing from a priest, the Pope or a place
of worship. "And |
|
|
you're sure not going to get it from a motel with Jimmy
Swaggart," he |
|
|
cracks. Rather, these blessings flow through God's word as
interpreted by |
|
|
Gene Scott. His is a "word-based church"
offering intelligent Christianity, |
|
|
Scott emphasizes. |
|
|
|
|
|
In February,
Times reporter Ralph Frammolino visited the University |
|
|
Cathedral for a glimpse into Scott's appeal. |
|
|
|
|
|
No expense has
been spared in restoring the historic theater. The |
|
|
lobby, with gold-backed mirrors and a vaulted ceiling
finished in fresco |
|
|
murals, is half a block long. The massive auditorium,
almost medieval in |
|
|
appearance, features large murals depicting the motion
picture industry. |
|
|
Onstage, a huge curtain bears the letters "UA"
in a coat of arms with the |
|
|
words "The Picture's The Thing"--a fitting
slogan for Scott's television |
|
|
ministry. |
|
|
|
|
|
Reservations
are required to enter the cathedral. "I ain't beggin' |
|
|
converts," Scott scolds. "You don't get in here
without a pass. I don't |
|
|
want anybody in here that doesn't have an appreciation for
that smallest |
|
|
hunger in your heart to pursue the revelation of God's
word." |
|
|
|
|
|
First-time
visitors like Frammolino are escorted into the auditorium, |
|
|
assigned a seat and closely observed by the church's
security force. A |
|
|
buddy system within Scott's congregation also keeps a
watchful eye on |
|
|
strangers. "We want to make sure our pastor stays
alive," whispers one |
|
|
follower from Orange County, who identifies himself only
as Duane. |
|
|
|
|
|
The 2,000-seat
theater is filled with people from a variety of ethnic |
|
|
backgrounds. Dressed in casual attire, the churchgoers
look as if they |
|
|
could just as easily be going to Dodger Stadium or a
Sunday matinee. No one |
|
|
under age 12 is in attendance; children of churchgoers
ride air-conditioned |
|
|
buses every Sunday to one of 43 museums within a half-hour
of the |
|
|
cathedral. "We don't lock our kids in a little
cubbyhole and teach them to |
|
|
hate God until they get the first chance to leave the
church," Scott says. |
|
|
|
|
|
When the
curtain begins to rise, congregation members leap to their |
|
|
feet and cheer wildly. Before them appears their master,
clad in a priest's |
|
|
collar, a teal-and-black windbreaker and gray slacks,
seemingly unmoved by |
|
|
the adulation. After several seconds of enthusiastic
applause, a rock band |
|
|
belts out praise to Jesus as Scott sits impassively on a
blue-cushioned |
|
|
stool until the singing ends. Among the tunes Scott
occasionally orders up |
|
|
is "Kill a Pissant for Jesus." |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott strives
to conduct his service as if it was a postgraduate |
|
|
lecture in religious studies. He is fond of boasting that
his congregation |
|
|
consists mostly of college graduates. Unlike most
university courses, |
|
|
though, there is no room for discussion of any kind in Dr.
Scott's |
|
|
classroom. With the exception of not-so-spontaneous
laughter at Scott's |
|
|
one-liners, not a peep is heard from members during the
teaching, not even |
|
|
an "Amen" or a "Hallelujah." Scott
insists that his two-hour service goes |
|
|
uninterrupted and gets angry if people seated in the front
get up, even to |
|
|
go to the restroom. |
|
|
|
|
|
As he delivers
his message, Scott pauses every few seconds to allow an |
|
|
interpreter to repeat his words for the benefit of dozens
of |
|
|
Spanish-speaking members in the audience and others
listening worldwide. He |
|
|
illustrates the day's lesson on a glass rectangle with the
intensity of an |
|
|
agitated football coach marking Xs and Os at halftime. |
|
|
|
|
|
While reading
aloud scattered verses in Ephesians, Scott scribbles |
|
|
Greek words on the glass. Hagyois is for sainthood, Dike
for righteousness |
|
|
and Logos for the word. He writes in red, blue, green and
black felt pens, |
|
|
using the different colors to strike previous markings
instead of using an |
|
|
eraser. |
|
|
|
|
|
Within an hour,
the board is streaked with arrows, circles, lines and |
|
|
indecipherable words that become nearly impossible to
follow. The lecture |
|
|
suddenly is reduced to a mind-numbing blur of Greek
nuances that virtually |
|
|
force the class to accept a relentless tightening of the
instructor's |
|
|
ecclesiastical monopoly. |
|
|
|
|
|
But the
underlying message of "basic Christianity" is clear. While |
|
|
other pastors denounce homosexuality, abortion, adultery,
profanity and |
|
|
drinking, Scott refuses to condemn such sinful behavior.
He leaves |
|
|
worshipers free to make their own choice without coercion. |
|
|
|
|
|
"I don't
ask you to change when you come here," he instructs the |
|
|
congregation. "I take you as you are, as God takes me
as I am." Scott |
|
|
preaches that, if people listen to him and start
practicing faith, "God is |
|
|
going to change you in spite of yourself." |
|
|
|
|
|
He finishes his
sermon and vanishes offstage without shaking a single |
|
|
hand or meeting his congregation. Herein lies a startling
contradiction: |
|
|
Scott promotes himself as a friend to sinners who have
been shunned by |
|
|
other churches, yet his cathedral doors are sealed off to
the general |
|
|
public. Even highly devoted followers are not permitted to
approach him in |
|
|
the name of security. Scott's retort: "I am more
accessible and contactable |
|
|
than the Pope." |
|
|
|
|
|
Most worshipers
seem not to care that they are prohibited from seeing |
|
|
their pastor in the flesh. They can tune him in 24 hours a
day, seven days |
|
|
a week, reveling in the rediscovery of their faith under
the guidance of a |
|
|
shepherd who acts like a rebel and still is elected by
God. |
|
|
|
|
|
Frank Anderson,
a middle-aged aircraft mechanic who sports an unkempt |
|
|
gray beard, is a typical Scott devotee. He attended church
as a child but |
|
|
eventually strayed from religion. That was before he
became hooked on |
|
|
Scott's television program while working the night shift
at Northrop. Now |
|
|
he and his wife, Tracy, drive in every Sunday from
Torrance to hear Scott. |
|
|
|
|
|
At first,
Anderson found Scott "exasperating" because the minister |
|
|
jumps from subject to subject during his lectures. But the
teachings began |
|
|
to fascinate him, especially the
anti-religious-Establishment thread of |
|
|
Scott's message. "He teaches that we're free,"
Anderson notes. "We've been |
|
|
made free and people who are teaching that you are not
supposed to do this |
|
|
(and) not supposed to do that are voiding that
freedom." |
|
|
|
|
|
Wes Parker, the
former Dodger first baseman, recalls the day in 1980 |
|
|
that he first listened to Scott on television. Within 20
minutes, Parker |
|
|
was on his feet, pointing at the screen and screaming,
"He's right! My God, |
|
|
this guy is right!" The next day, Parker plunked down
$500 for Bible study |
|
|
materials and has been a regular supporter since.
"This man has saved my |
|
|
life," Parker exclaims. |
|
|
He readily
admits that some of his friends don't hold Scott in such |
|
|
esteem. "They don't like a two-hour service. They
don't like that he |
|
|
occasionally uses a swear word. They don't like the fact
that he gets |
|
|
angry. They don't like that he spends a lot of time
railing against people |
|
|
on his staff that he doesn't think are doing a good job.
Some of those |
|
|
things I don't like either, but it is worth it to me to
sit through to get |
|
|
the message." |
|
|
|
|
|
GENE SCOTT WAS
LIVID. AFTER successfully courting the vote of |
|
|
flamboyant City Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay to prevent
the Church of the |
|
|
Open Door from being demolished in 1987, Scott sensed that
he was about to |
|
|
be double-crossed. |
|
|
|
|
|
Lindsay, a
religious man whose district included the church site, had |
|
|
assured Scott's congregation one Sunday that "hell's
gonna freeze over" |
|
|
before the building, which Scott's church had moved into,
would be torn |
|
|
down. But when Lindsay began to waver about preserving the
72-year-old |
|
|
church, Scott did not hesitate to remind viewers that
Lindsay, then 86, was |
|
|
in his "senior years" or "16 years past the
biblically appointed |
|
|
allotment"--three score and 10. |
|
|
|
|
|
"Now if
you've had an illustrious career, and you're in your eighth |
|
|
decade, do you want to meet your Maker saying, 'I decided
to do one in for |
|
|
you, God?' " Scott thundered. "Gilbert Lindsay
ain't dumb enough to face |
|
|
his Maker reneging on a sacred commitment in a platform of
a church before |
|
|
5,000 people and an onlooking nation." |
|
|
|
|
|
In the end,
Lindsay got religion and supported the project. He died at |
|
|
age 90, presumably at peace with the Lord for keeping his
word to Scott's |
|
|
church. But Scott could not keep the wrecking ball away.
After he'd |
|
|
unsuccessfully tried to renegotiate his deal for the
property, its original |
|
|
owner sold it to developers. Scott lost his $6.5-million
down payment, but |
|
|
acquired the church's "Jesus Saves" signs. He
then moved his church to the |
|
|
United Artists Theater. |
|
|
|
|
|
Scott's
willingness to invoke the wrath of God against Lindsay |
|
|
demonstrates the lengths he will go to intimidate an
adversary. Friends say |
|
|
Scott is a fierce street fighter who strives to obliterate
an opponent, be |
|
|
it Satan or a competitor. At horse shows, Scott is not
content when his |
|
|
equestrian team captures a medal. He wants a sweep of all
the top places. |
|
|
|
|
|
Nowhere has
Scott incurred more battle scars than in the courts. Since |
|
|
coming to Southern California, his church's far-flung
enterprises have been |
|
|
tangled in more than 100 lawsuits. At times, Scott and his
lawyers have |
|
|
drawn criticism for their litigation tactics. A federal
judge in 1987 |
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called a desperate bid by Scott to retain the Church of
the Open Door a |
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"reprehensible" abuse of the legal process. In
1990, in a lawsuit on behalf |
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of the American Horse Show Assn., attorneys for the
O'Melveny & Myers law |
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firm accused Scott of hiding behind corporate fronts to
overturn his |
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suspension by the association. |
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In that case,
Scott was banned from competition for calling a judge a |
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"prejudicial, incompetent nincompoop" on his
television program after one |
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of his horses lost a competition. Scott argued in legal
papers that his |
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suspension should be overturned because the horses were
owned by Gene Scott |
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Inc., which he contended was not run by Gene Scott. |
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While the suits
do not always succeed in court, apparently they are |
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effective in helping to intimidate Scott's adversaries.
Dozens of people |
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refused to speak about Scott for this article because they
expressed fear |
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of being sued. |
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Over the years,
Scott's followers occasionally have resorted to verbal |
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threats and physical violence to defend their minister. In
1985, a musician |
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in Scott's band who criticized the preacher reported to
officials that he |
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was jumped, punched and tossed through a plate glass
window by two church |
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followers. The musician, Donald Vladimir Nicoloff, was
treated for facial |
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and leg cuts. |
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In the months
leading up to a trial on assault charges against his |
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alleged attackers, Nicoloff claimed he received harassing,
late-night phone |
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calls from Scott's disciples, some threatening bodily
harm. The trial |
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against the two church followers ended in a hung jury when
the key witness, |
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the church's former head musician, fled to Tennessee
because he feared |
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reprisals from Scott's disciples, prosecutors maintained. |
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Glendale police
were so concerned about a potential outbreak of |
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violence by Scott's devotees that the prosecutor assigned
to the case, Los |
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Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Herb Lapin, was issued a
gun permit and |
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assigned a police officer for protection during the trial. |
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"I'm not
going to call his followers fanatics or lunatics," Lapin says. |
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"But whenever you have a group that has strong
followers, I find they are |
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easily led by their leaders, whether they are good or
bad." |
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ADMIRE HIM OR
DESPISE him, Gene Scott has attained the kind of fame, |
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lifestyle and influence that most people only dream about. |
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"Only in
America," sighs Clark of the National Religious Broadcasters, |
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"can people like this get on television, attract an
audience and collect |
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enough money to stay on television." |
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And only in
Southern California, it seems, can a long-haired, |
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loud-mouthed preacher pack a cavernous movie house each
Sunday with |
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followers eager to hear the word of God from him. In a
city that attracts |
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people seeking the good life, a pastor with a free spirit,
a stable of |
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horses, a chauffeured limo and an answer for everything
can be an |
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attractive role model. |
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"Gene
Scott offers you all the advantages of Christianity with none of |
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the inconveniences except tithing," says Rabbi
William Kramer, a religious |
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studies professor emeritus at Cal State Northridge and an
admirer of Scott. |
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"You don't have to put that in cellophane to sell
it." |
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Yet others feel
strongly that Scott has no business preaching in a |
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church. The Christian Research Institute, an international
religious center |
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based in Irvine that monitors controversial religious
movements, goes so |
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far as to advise Christians not to attend Scott's
services. |
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"During
the last few years, Scott has become more and more outrageous |
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and offensive," a CRI analysis concludes. "His
language is crude, abusive |
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and profane, clearly violating God's standards for
Christians." |
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Such
condemnation drives Scott up a wall. At a recent service, Scott |
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groused that he is fed up with outsiders who have the
nerve to question his |
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conduct. |
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"They
never stop!" Scott protested to loud applause. "These judgmental |
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asses!" |
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CAPTION: |
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Photo: The eccentric preacher and his projects. |
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Photo: (Gene Scott) |
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Photo: Scott's Universal Cathedral |
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Photo: Scott makes his points with different pens,
crossing out |
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markings instead of erasing them. |
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Photo: Guards protect the church's valuables, including
Scott |
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(OC WEEKLY cover story,
reprinted on the occasion of Gene Scott’s death, February 24, 2005) |
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One night a few months ago,
I was flipping the TV dial when I came across an unforgettable scene
unfolding in the sprawling back yard of a Pasadena mansion. Three flawless,
buxom young lovelies were doing some very professional-looking bumping and
grinding to the accompaniment of the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight” while a
well-groomed old man watched impassively from a chair. There was a phone
number at the bottom of the screen, and every now and then, an announcer’s
voice drifted in, urging me to call. The camera stayed locked on the women
for several long, head-spinning minutes, and the more I watched, the more
disconcerted I became. |
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What the hell was this? |
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Finally, the song ended and
the show cut away to a studio, where the old man was sitting in extreme
closeup before an out-of-focus, pale-blue backdrop. “Now that you’ve seen
what I got waitin’ for me at home,” he said, sparking up a fat stogy with a
pistol-shaped lighter, “you should all be extra nice to me for comin’ down
here to talk to ya.” |
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I finally recognized the old
man, sort of. He’s Dr. Gene Scott, the TV preacher who owns that red neon
sign in downtown L.A. that says JESUS SAVES in letters so big you could
probably read it from outer space. For as long as I can remember, he’s been
on TV, seemingly 24 hours a day, talking about Jesus in a surly Southern
drawl while wearing two pairs of glasses at once and various eye-catching
hats–a sombrero, for instance, or a collegiate mortarboard, or a king’s
crown. The few times I had actually tried to listen to what he had to say,
I’d quickly gotten bored and given up. I certainly wasn’t bored now. Instead
of offering an explanation for what a squad of dirty-dancing bimbos was doing
in the middle of a religious broadcast, the uncharacteristically hatless
Scott plunged right into berating his flock for not sending enough cash. Soon
he was so furious that he couldn’t continue, and, with a mighty puff on his
cigar, he vanished in a cloud of smoke. |
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We were then treated to
footage of Scott’s girlies riding some beautiful, high-class show horses
around a track at a place an onscreen caption identified as the Silver Oaks
Ranch. This was just too much, so I called the show’s 800 number and demanded
to know what was going on. The operator just laughed good-naturedly, like I
was a child asking why the sky is blue. “Dr. Scott owns a lot of beautiful
horses,” he told me, “so why shouldn’t he have some beautiful ladies around
to ride them?” |
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I got very little out of him
(he even dodged my question of what happened to Scott’s trademark hats). But
before I hung up, the operator offered me some advice: “Just keep watching
the show, and sooner or later, everything will become clear.” |
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I followed his suggestion,
but what I saw in the following weeks only raised new questions. The bimbo
boogie sessions turned out to be a regular feature; night after night, I’d
tune in just in time to catch a few minutes of his women jiggling themselves sore
to tunes like “Addicted to Love,” “Raspberry Beret” and, perhaps most
memorably, a Dixieland version of “When the Saints Go Marching in.” The good
doc also escorted his lady friends to the Kentucky Derby and the
International Stamp Collectors’ expo, took endless bike rides with them, and,
on at least one occasion, snuggled up in bed with them while he went through
his mail on the air. There’s none of that humble-barefoot-shepherd malarkey
for Scott; this is one preacher man who likes livin’ large. The amazing thing
was that, for all the quality time he spent with such lovely ladies, he still
seemed to be in a perpetually rotten mood. |
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The show freely mixed
Scott’s live performances with taped bits 5 or 10 (or more) years old, and it
became apparent that, over the decades, the man has changed his look more
often (and more drastically) than David Bowie. On one viewing, he was
clean-cut, wearing the dark, conservative business suit of an insurance
salesman; the next time, he sported the look of a decadent ’70s rock star,
with long blond hair, a floppy hat and a yellowish fur coat; other times,
he’d wear a leather jacket and dark glasses or a tuxedo and a pith helmet. In
the early days, he often paused midsermon to look at his studio audience and
ask, “I’m not boring you, am I?” as if he actually cared. Today’s Scott, by
contrast, often barks, “Am I borin’ ya?”–his tone making it clear that if
anybody said yes, he would kick their ass. He was a moody, often
fire-breathing tyrant on the air, taking a near-fiendish delight in abusing
his cringing staff for even the smallest slip-up. Once, a cameraman
accidentally jiggled the camera while Scott was giving us a tour of some of
his fascinating oil paintings, and Scott became furious. “Don’t move the
camera until I TELL you to!” he barked. “I’m the director here. I’ll show you
what I WANT to show you, and then you can play with the camera all you want!” |
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The doctor went no easier on
his flock. Once, when they weren’t ponying up the dough to his satisfaction,
Scott referred to them as “dumb, Christian quote-unquote assholes!” Another
time, he warned them that unless they shaped up quick, God “might let you
live this next year without Him so you can see the difference.” |
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I couldn’t imagine why
people followed the man. His sermons were certainly far from compelling. He
could, and often did, spend hours explaining how the King James Bible botched
the translation of a particular word from the original Hebrew. He was also big
on the sort of dodgy mystical material you used to see a lot on In Search Of,
often reading aloud from highly questionable volumes on the legendary lost
continent of Atlantis or expounding at length on his pet theory that angels
built the pyramid at Giza (Jeez-uh, as he pronounced it). When he was in one
of his rare jocular moods, he treated his followers to readings from joke
books. Mostly, however, he just roared at people to send him money. And they
did. |
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If I could have dismissed
Scott as a charlatan, the whole thing might have ended there. But the man
spoke of the Resurrection with such passion and at such length, day after
day, that it seemed impossible for the whole thing to be just an act.
Occasionally, the doctor would address some of the mysteries that plagued me:
one time, he read a note from a viewer asking why he always had pretty women
around him. His answer: “To keep the ugly ones off me.” But it didn’t take
long for me to realize that watching the show most definitely would not
answer all of my questions. |
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Eugene Scott was born Aug.
14, 1929, in Buhl, Idaho, to W.T. and Inez Leona Graves Scott, a traveling
preacher and his teenage bride. In many ways, it was a childhood straight out
of a Southern gothic novel. When Gene was still a child, his mother gave birth
to premature twins, one of whom died within hours. A month later, Gene began
to suffer from strange convulsions in the middle of the night, and his mother
had a vision: she saw a stairway roll down from heaven and come right down
beside her bed; then two angels descended and stopped in front of Gene. “Oh
no, Lord,” Leona cried out. “You can’t take Gene.” The angels heard her and
picked up the remaining twin instead. Gene survived the night, but his
brother didn’t. The incident convinced Scott’s parents that their son was
bound for glory. |
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Soon after, the family moved
to Gridley, California, where Gene’s father agreed to head a church whose
previous pastor had crucified himself on a tree. Young Gene was well-liked in
town, and he excelled in school; in the seventh grade, he brought home a straight-A
report card with a note from his teacher that read, “Do you know you have a
genius for a son?” He played on his high school basketball team, although he
took some guff from his dad’s congregation for showing his legs in public. |
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When he came of age, he
enrolled in the philosophy of education doctorate program at Stanford
University, still somehow finding time in his hectic collegiate schedule to
wed his high school sweetheart, Betty Ann Frazer, and work alongside his
father at the Assemblies of God church on weekends. Soon, however, the
pervasive secular skepticism of his Stanford peers rubbed off on him, and he
suffered a paralyzing spiritual crisis, although he re-discovered his faith
before graduation. For his dissertation, he summed up his life’s goal with a
quote from the American Christian philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr: to “descend
from the anthill of scholastic hairsplitting to help the world of men
regulate its common life and discipline, its ambitions and ideals.” |
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After earning his doctorate
in 1957, Scott taught at a Bible college in the Midwest and helped Oral
Roberts establish a university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although Scott speaks with
a certain grudging admiration for Roberts today (“I believe that Oral believes
he saw a 900-foot-tall Jesus . . .”), the tension that eventually caused them
to part ways is also clear (“. . . I guess it takes 900 feet to convince
him”). On his TV show, Scott often tells the story of the days he spent
golfing with Roberts. Roberts was a sore winner, and every time he trounced
young Scott on the green, he walked away, leaving the golf bags behind for
Scott to carry. Finally, the day came when Scott won. He still cherishes the
memory of strolling off and leaving his golf bag for a chastened Roberts. |
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Post-Roberts, Scott rose
steadily through the ranks of the fundamentalist Christian Assemblies of God
movement, resigning as a member in good standing in 1970 to found his own
Oroville ministry with his father. In the early ’70s, he was asked to take
over the 45-year-old Faith Center Church in Glendale, a position that came
with four broadcast stations and a $3.5 million debt. Scott agreed to sign on
as pastor, provided the church leaders resigned and he got complete control.
He never seriously imagined the church would go for it, but they did. Scott
went on the air in 1975, and although his show was a hit virtually from the
start, his early years of broadcasting were personally trying. His 23-year
marriage, perhaps unsurprisingly, crumbled almost immediately after he became
a star (he calls his ex-wife “the Devil’s Sister” and adds that if he goes to
heaven and she’s there, he’ll move to another planet). In the ’80s, Scott was
hit by two financial disasters. His 1983 refusal to turn over his financial
records for an FCC investigation cost the church three broadcast stations;
four years later, the church lost a $6.5 million deposit when Scott tried to
renege on a deal to buy a historic Los Angeles church. |
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These blows could have
destroyed Scott, but they only strengthened his resolve. After he lost the
broadcast stations, he kept his show on the air by buying time on national TV
and cable outlets. He also devised an ingenious system to keep the government
out of his financial affairs by demanding that his followers “give without
strings”–i.e., donate their cash without having any idea what it’s going to
be spent on. “The spirit of life goes to work for you . . . only if you give
materially to me,” Scott says. “You should give to me if I wanted to go out
and buy a rock band or the Mustang Ranch.” |
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He has survived his trials
and prospered beyond belief. Today his program is available, by radio or
television, all over the world, 24 hours a day. He lives in a mansion,
consorts with beautiful women and owns classics of impressionist art. (He
hangs his own paintings beside them, feeling that their beauty upgrades him;
he claimed he keeps the women around for the same reason.) He races horses,
hunts, smokes and swears a blue streak, and his followers love him for it.
He’s even taken a dazzling bride 20 years his junior (and damn pretty on
horseback), Christine F. Shaw. Many famous people have sung his praises, from
Tom Bradley to Buffy Saint Marie. Years ago, he achieved the ultimate
pop-culture milestone when he was parodied (by Robin Williams, no less) on
Saturday Night Live. |
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Perhaps most intriguingly,
he was even the subject of a documentary by Werner Herzog, the mad-genius
director most famous in this country for his epic tale of obsession,
Fitzcarraldo. When I discovered that the film existed, I had to see it. But
the tale of the months that I spent looking for a copy could easily make
another article. Suffice it to say that, in the end, I tracked down God’s
Angry Man at a wonderful place in L.A. called Mondo Video A-Go-Go. The fellow
behind the counter explained that Scott was so incensed by the film that he
threatened to sue, and it was pulled from circulation. The tape I got at
Mondo was actually a grainy video of the film being projected on a screen.
The sound was terrible, but because this was one of the few surviving copies,
how could I complain? According to the guy at Mondo, the person in the tape
who’s watching the film being projected is none other than Dr. Scott himself.
I’m not sure if that’s true, but I like to pretend it is. |
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ME WATCHING DR. SCOTT
WATCHING GOD’S ANGRY MAN |
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The film begins with Scott
midtantrum, screaming himself purple at an unlucky studio engineer: “Give me
the volume! When I yell, I wanna be heard! ‘Cause I only yell when there’s an
occasion for yelling! [He turns, speaking to us.] God’s honor is at stake
every night. This is not a show; it’s a feast! A feast of the faithing
experience.” |
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Later, we catch up with him
in the back of a moving limo; he’s beardless, blond and dressed like an
undertaker. He reminds me of Dennis Hopper. He seems almost like a different
man from the grizzled prophet I see on TV every night, but his eyes have the same
chilly blue glow. He offers a few choice words for nosy reporters like me. “I
kid the media,” he says, “and say they worship the Great God Two-Sides,
because if they went down on the beach to report on the sun comin’ up, they’d
add a line that there are some on the beach that say the sun didn’t come up.
. . . I have a conviction: if you know your subject, you cannot avoid coming
to a conclusion.” |
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As he speaks, I realize that
despite the reams of material I’ve gathered on the man, I’m still nowhere
near coming to a conclusion about him. Is he a fake? Is he a true believer?
After all this time, how can I still not know? While I’m puzzling over that
one, we’re treated to a brief interview with Scott’s parents (two sweet old
folks who clearly think the world of their son) and a television segment
where Scott counts the pledges as they roll in. It comes to a quarter of a
million dollars in 16 minutes, a total Scott is content with. For now. |
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At this point, I’m pretty
convinced he’s a shyster, but the next segment finds him matter-of-factly
outlining his schedule: three to 10 hours of live television daily, two
separate two-hour services on Sunday, board meetings, conventions, pastoring
another church in northern California, visiting sick church members, writing
and publishing religious texts, leading tours of the Holy Land, visiting an
orphanage he supports, and more. It’s a dizzying lineup, far more than any
man could do purely to keep up appearances. I’m as confused as ever. |
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Then the film strikes an
unexpectedly poignant note. Scott sits silently in his study for a long
while, his face unreadable. “Let me tell ya what makes me happy,” he begins.
“Get me on a jet, [and fly me] 8,000 miles to a city where nobody knows me.
I’d like to . . . just not have some life-or-death struggle.” |
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For the first time in all
the time I’ve been studying him, Scott looks lost. “I am too good to be
really bad and too bad to be really good,” he says. “I don’t enjoy being the
good guy, ’cause I’d rather do some hellish things. . . . My dream is to go
somewhere where I can lay on the beach and read books and do my thing. . . .
I dream of [going] to Australia and getting a college-professor job where
nobody knows me, teach about Plato and go out back and hunt rocks. Now, that
probably exaggerates it, but that’s what I’d like, just to get away from this
mess.” |
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The film really comes to
life in its final minutes, beginning with a scene taken from Scott’s show. He
is in closeup, his face a mask. “I will not be defeated tonight,” he
whispers. “Five phones are available, and one person has the key.” |
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There’s a nearly 30-second
pause–it feels longer–until at last Scott speaks. “Not one more word
tonight,” he vows, “till that thousand comes in.” |
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Then there are two minutes
of some of the most agonizing silence I’ve ever experienced. At first, Scott
just sits there, his eyes boring a hole into the viewer. After a long while,
he oh-so-casually shuffles some note cards, but the tension is building by
the second. Eventually, we cut to a big-haired operator in the studio, who is
weeping beside her silent telephone. After a moment, the operator next to her
begins to cry as well. They’re tears of fear; the women know what’s about to
happen. Scott looks like he’s going to explode at any second. Finally, he
does. |
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“Do you understand that
GOD’s work hangs on 600 MISERABLE dollars?!” he roars. “And you SIT there,
GLUED to your chair! How long must I teach you the principles of spiritual
warfare?! Thirty thousand means nothing now; GOD is being held up to an open
shame! . . . It has NOTHING to do with money . . . [and then aside] at this
point.” |
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He savors each word like
William Shatner playing King Lear. “People who [sings] ‘I Surrender All’ will
let GOD, for an HOUR, hang over PEANUTS!” |
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Overcome with disgust, he
can scarcely continue. “The network oughta be SHUT DOWN,” he spits, “as Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed, if God can’t find four people. What IS
Christianity?! Games?! Gimmicks?! Words?! Massage?! [I must have rewound the
tape five times for that one.] Or life and death?!” |
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Finally, his rage is so
over-the-top that even he can barely keep a straight face. “Husbands and
wives, if I was married to either one of you I’d get up and kick both of you.
If you got somebody sleepin’, go jump in the middle of their gut. This is
WAR. God’s honor is at stake!” |
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The money comes in at last,
even more than Scott asked for, but by now, it’s too late to please God’s
Angry Man. “We’re well over,” Scott screams, “after I YELLED at you. Why
didn’t you do it ’cause you love GOD?” |
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With a growl, he throws a
wad of paper at the camera and storms off, whether to go fume in his dressing
room or laugh himself sore, I honestly can’t guess. |
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The next scene features
Scott in his study, quietly and candidly discussing his utter lack of
privacy. He says that for security reasons, he’s never, ever alone, and the
only thing he owns that nobody else has access to is a zippered black bag he
carries with him at all times. “I hope somebody thinks $10 million in gold
bars is there, for the simple dignity that there is something I don’t have to
go naked about,” he says. “Maybe there’s dirty socks [in there]. I hope when
I die . . . the government bureaucrats salivate themselves sick getting into
this bag. [It] may be my memoirs. My simple dignity of privacy is restricted
to that bag. That’s all I got.” |
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Forget the government
bureaucrats; I’m salivating over that damn bag. What treasures does it
contain? Perhaps the key to the man’s whole life–his Rosebud–is in there! My
mind is reeling with the possibilities when I suddenly realize that Scott has
just answered one of the interviewer’s questions with a line I have to
scribble down: “No man should be boss who wants to be a boss. He’ll abuse his
authority.” The astonishing thing is that he sounds like he means it. Is this
the same Gene Scott who shrieks at his staff every night on the air? |
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At the scene’s end, Scott
talks about the pains of the life he’s created for himself driving him to
tears on a weekly basis. The interviewer suggests that Scott must be a lonely
man, which Scott almost simultaneously affirms and denies: “Oh yeah, sure. Who
could I have as a friend? Every friend is a potential enemy until this job is
finished . . . I guess I’m lonesome sometimes, but I’m more of a loner than
lonesome. I don’t have any close friends, no. Yeah, I’m lonesome.” |
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There’s a long pause as
Scott looks off camera at the interviewer. The shot holds for just a bit too
long, and Scott starts to break into a sly grin. The shot holds, and the grin
gets wider. |
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The film concludes with a
bizarre scene from the era of Scott’s FCC troubles, the time of the FCC
monkey band. In those days, when Scott was feeling particularly hassled by
the government, he’d holler, “Bring me that monkey band!” and one of his
helpers would hurriedly wind up a gang of piano-playing, cymbal-crashing toy
monkeys, a bizarre toy-shop caricature of our government at work. The
concerto usually ended with Scott taking up a bat and whacking the gears out
of one of the band members. The scene is almost frighteningly odd, but
Scott’s delight is infectious. |
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“You hit ‘em on the head,
and all they do is squawk!” he cries. “Look at ‘em! There’s your bureaucrats!
Wouldn’t you like to grow up and be a bureaucrat, if you’re a kid watchin’
this?! That’s our government for you! Haw haw haw!” |
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THE BLOB |
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Shortly after I saw God’s
Angry Man, Scott’s nightly shows took an ugly turn. I watched for weeks, but
I never managed to figure out exactly what happened; apparently, Scott
discovered that one of the women in his employ had been saying unflattering
things about him on the telephone. It never got any clearer than that, but
for the next few weeks, Scott raged endlessly, hideously, against this woman
in particular (“She was like a blob, expecting me to stuff food into her
opening. Well, I don’t touch an opening like that!”) and all women in general
(“God is the ultimate chauvinist . . . I’ve never met a woman who didn’t need
a man to lead her around”). The incident brought out the beast in him, and
soon Scott was enacting his own words about bosses who want to be bosses.
“Hell, this ain’t a democracy” became his new favorite phrase. He began to
spend his Sunday sermons screaming at his congregation that he is literally a
chosen one, selected by God before he was born to lead a select handful of
followers, a “master race” in the fight against the forces of Satan. These
followers absolutely will not ever talk back to the boss. |
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“I don’t care what I do,” he
told them more than once. “If you think it’s wrong, I don’t wanna hear about
it. I do what I do because God wills it, and if you don’t like it, you can
get the funk out.” |
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His flock sat silently
through every rant, only piping up when he barked a question at them: “Am I
boring you?” Of course, there could be only one answer. |
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SIT UP STRAIGHT AND NARROW |
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At 11 a.m. on a Sunday
morning, I was outside the imposing University Cathedral in the heart of
downtown Los Angeles. After repeated, unsuccessful calls to arrange an
interview with Scott, I had given up and made a reservation to attend one of
his services. I was greeted (intercepted, really) at the door by a doughy,
smiling fellow who checked my name on the reservation list and then proceeded
to brief me on the rules for the two-hour service: absolutely no talking, no
wiggling in my seat, no getting up to go the bathroom. “We wouldn’t want to
get Dr. Scott mad, now would we?” he said with a laugh. |
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I’m a shaggy creature,
clearly out of my element, and I could tell my appearance made the man
nervous. As he escorted me to my seat, I noted with a chuckle that I was in
the next-to-last row, far away from the cameras. |
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The cathedral interior is a
gorgeous, brassy, kitschy mess, a mix of the UA theater the place once was
and the pulpit to the world it is now. They’ve hardly tried to hide the past;
the drop curtain still says THE PICTURE’S THE THING and UA in giant, ornate
letters. The crowd was an odd mix of blue and white collars, with a couple of
girls floating around dressed like they were at a Cramps show. |
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It was well past the
scheduled starting time when the curtain went up; but when it did, there was
Scott on a stool, sharing the stage with a few musicians and a
sports-bar-style big-screen TV. The crowd applauded thunderously for what
must have been a full minute until Scott finally snapped at them to stop it
already. The band immediately struck up and performed a few numbers, although
I was disappointed that they didn’t do “Kill a Pissant for Jesus,” a song
Scott’s been known to call for on occasion. The musical interlude gave me a
chance to inspect the enormous mural behind Scott. At first, I took it to be
a religious scene of some kind, but it turned out to be a ’30s-style painting
of a bunch of cowpokes heading for the last roundup. |
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After the third song, Scott
came forward to speak. He wasn’t far in, though, when he broke off to look
ominously in my direction. |
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“I’m about to embarrass
somebody in a minute, if they don’t sit up.” |
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There was dead silence all
around me. I was slouching in my seat a little, but I was 25 rows back and in
the dark. Could he possibly mean me? |
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“You sit up now, or I’ll
putcha in a wheelchair. I’m serious. I’d make no exceptions if my own mother
was sitting here.” |
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Everyone around me was now
sitting up so straight I could practically hear their spines cracking. I
briefly considered slouching over even further (getting thrown bodily out of
the cathedral sure would have made a dramatic closing for this story, wouldn’t
it?), but I decided to play along. I sat up, and Scott launched into a bitter
rant against reporters. I’m sure he wasn’t talking about me, but it was one
hell of a spooky coincidence. |
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From there, Scott mounted a
fresh attack on the mysterious woman who had wronged him, pledging that, in
the future, he would be more intolerant of dissent and more generally
unlovable than ever. The crowd laughed and applauded wildly at that one, and
while they were still recovering, Scott announced that it was “offering
time.” The words left me momentarily dumbfounded, until a bunch of men
bearing red cloth sacks came bounding down the aisles and all of the
churchgoers gave them cash. When the men got to me, I waved them away, and I
could immediately sense waves of hostility emanating from the churchgoers
around me. I stopped myself from slouching guiltily down in my seat just in
the nick of time. |
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When Scott preaches at the
cathedral, he works before a large, white board, writing in red and blue and
green and black pens. He never erases; he simply writes over old words with
darker pens. By morning’s end, they make some interesting, Kandinsky-like patterns
(for a time, the ever-entrepreneurial Scott sold the boards when he was done
with them). The one drawback to the system is that, after a while, the
messages are virtually indecipherable; detail upon detail piles up until it
becomes such a jumble that your brain starts to hurt. Eventually, my eyes
glazed over, and with the scant reasoning power I had left, I started trying
to organize this article in my mind. It seemed impossible; I’d gathered
enough material for a book about Scott, and more details kept coming in, but
I still had no clue about what makes him tick. |
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When I came out of my
reverie, Scott was winding up a speech: “God doesn’t like failure, and
mankind, as it stands, is God’s great failure. . . . I want the world to know
its hate is returned.” |
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HEAVEN CAN WAIT |
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When the service was over, I
went upstairs and looked at Scott’s world-renowned collection of Bibles. Some
were on metal pages; some had pages as big as a car door. There were a few of
Scott’s books for sale, most of them transcripts from his TV sermons. His
flock was all around me, looking at the merchandise with wide eyes. What did
they see there? What was in it for them? |
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I didn’t care anymore. I
went downstairs and stepped outside. It had rained the day before, and all of
a sudden, L.A. was beautiful. It felt good to get away from that dark room
and free from God’s Angry Man. I crossed the street to my car and drove through
crowded downtown streets, glad as I rarely am to be alive in my own godless
world. |
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