David – that kind of stuff has been going on for years. I remember back in the early ’90s we had a speaker come from some big-shot American college to a conference for 500 pastors. Their “press kit” advised that they only traveled business class and would need to be picked up at the airport in a luxury style car.
We got her the business class ticket. I picked her up at the airport in my ’77 Honda Civic. What was she gonna do – call Ahab the Arab instead?

golden calves are made, not born.

I’m only surprised that the speaker didn’t insist on a big bowl of M&Ms with all the red ones picked out.
Red M&Ms are ‘of Satan’, you know.

And all of us skeptics out here shake our heads wondering how anyone is fooled by the mega-preachers who live lives of luxury, funded by their ‘flocks’.
The shepherd and flock metaphor misses a very important point – the sheep are there to provide sustenance for the shepherd.

Or, as a little boy once answered when asked what the shepherd does for the sheep – “Sheers them!”

This reminds me of a great Larry King episode, where Larry was hosting a lineup of bigtime pastors – Lucado, Osteen, etc. He asked them if they all had private planes. They all hemmed and hawed and admitted, yes. Then Larry asked if they thought Jesus would have a private plane if he were around today? WOW!! Rare brilliance from LK, but no one had a good answer for that. yuck.

Unfortunately, this is too true and I have too much experience with it. (I once had to buy a specific brand of gum for a Christian artist before he arrived to do our show…gum? you can’t pack your own gum?) I do believe a large amount of the diva demands are more representative of managers trying to keep their jobs than artists’ or speakers’ preferences – but that doesn’t really explain the pricetags, which are obscene.
But then you’ve got the incomparable Shaun Groves (http://www.shaungroves.com) who tours for free if you let him talk about Compassion International.

I think that Amy has a point about the managers/agents trying to keep their jobs.
But still I think its sad.
Especially the point Larry King brought up.
I suppose they would feel awkward riding in first class and getting flack/stares from those who knew them. So instead they hide in their planes. I don’t know on the other hand, you could wonder how many people ride the plane that are part of the entourage, maybe its worth having.

These people are terrible representatives of their faith. Monetary worth contrary to popular belief is no indication of spiritual maturity. (As I recall, Jesus had quite a lot to say about the difficulty of a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven.)
I do not say that every saint or prophet must be poor, but all must be indifferent to the trappings of status and wealth. Am I at that stage? No. But then I don’t hold myself out as a “man of God”, one who has the inside track on the Divine. As a “work in progress”, I progress from day to day, learning some lessons easily and having to repeat others more than a few times.
One last point: It behooves a prophet who takes on the mantle of the Divine to be aware that should he or she speak in err that the One upon who’s behalf he or she speaks may not be terribly impressed. (I don’t think the weight of that concern enters into the thinking of a great many of these celebre-phets.)

Scandal brewing at Oral Roberts University
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-05-oral-roberts-univ_N.htm?csp=34

Unquestioned Power breeds such abuse. The best of the mega-church preachers make sure that they are surrounded by people who will say no if necessary. The best presidents do the same (needless to say – that’s what is missing right now).
In the Catholic Church – two voices trump the pope. One is the word of a church council – Vatican II trumps what has been done to destroy it. But the second one is very important. When the Vatican or Pope come out with something and the people of God – over time – fail to see it as true, then we have certainty it is not of the Holy Spirit. The encyclical condemning artificial birth control has been rejected by the people and gradually, it is apparent that it cannot be of the Holy Spirit. Now, even saying that can get you fired from the Church, but…. it is the truth.
People in churches – Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell – rest his soul, Popes and bishops are responsible to the people’s good sense and questions. The people do have to access their good sense and remember to question. It s a moral responsibility to do so.
Richard Roberts will fall on this one. It is not a new story – very old indeed – am remembering Pope Innocent and his encounters with St. Francis.
Lemmings are not part of the kingdom of God. Those who behave in a passive and unquestioning manner
will walk off the cliff. Somehow I think the People of God who are the church are better than that.

Recall seeing a famous priest at a conference once. This guy was and is one of the most famous preachers in the world. He was shabby and humble. He had driven to the conference himself – in his 15 year old Toyota. My friend and I took him to lunch at Burger King, where he carefully ordered a single and offered to split an order of fries. Went back to the conference where he enlivened about 1000 people with his passion for the Gospel and the poor. He is a Franciscan and they do embrace poverty as a “friend” – vow poverty as a matter of fact, but he stands in stark contrast to a bishop who spoke several years later. Needed the limo and a fancy luncheon was served. He spoke to essentially the same people – about religion, about staying pure and had a little guy following him to attend to every need. I just sort of wonder which one modeled Jesus.