Bad news from carman.org...

[spottacus]

Okay, I don't like his style and I find his music repellent, but I think this is interesting and useful information. It was originally posted at Inpop's Petra board.

A Plot Uncovered to Defraud the Ministry
Dear Friends and Partners:

For those of you who have followed this ministry over the years, it�s obvious what we do. Our goal has been to take the gospel into places that never get a chance to hear it set to music and/or in a form that reaches today�s generation. For 26 years we have strived to set a standard in Ministry for young people to follow.That�s why it shouldn�t be unusual to find us going to the most brutal and dangerously violent area of �Fort Apache in the Bronx, N.Y� or �Spring Break in Daytona Beach� or even on the streets during �Mardi Gras� in New Orleans.These are just a few of the unusual things we have done, along with doing concerts in theaters, arenas, coliseums and stadiums for free. No charge at all for 20 years.We always paid for those events ourselves, and it truly has been a non-profit venture. I haven�t taken a salary from the ministry for almost 7 years now. It�s just not there.You see, a music ministry is primarily aimed at the masses in need and not the well-trained mature givers of a �Preaching Based� outreach. It�s just the way it has always been. Because of that, we don�t have the finances at our disposal that it might appear to those on the outside.We all loved those large events, that�s true, but it has also �always� been a break-even proposition as well. Even today, we operate on a �month to month� basis, with no cash in reserve. It really is a daily venture of faith.That�s why I don�t take a salary, not because I don�t want one or need one, but there�s not enough at the end of the month to have one.

There are many things I don�t tell you as partners when it comes to the opposition I face on a constant basis. I try and take the hits into myself and only bring to you the positives of the Ministry.

There have been many people who have stolen, overcharged, quit at a time of need, not fulfilled promises, betrayals, death threats and many disloyalties. I kept them all to myself. But the times are changing, and you now NEED to know what is threatening to destroy the ministry that �you� have given to and �supported� in the work of encouraging and uplifting your spirits over these years and leading your family members to the Lord. Carman Ministries is in jeopardy of being lost forever, destroyed by a few people who got very close to me and promised to help me during a very vulnerable time in my life when my brother Mario died, and I was emotionally hanging on by a thread. People that I trusted took advantage of this work and lead it down the road to financial collapse for their own gain. Had I not emptied all my savings, retirement funds and sold my house...we would not be here today. But none of those large personal funds exist like that anymore, and there is nothing left to empty-out or sell. Now I need you to help me fight this battle to save the work so we can go on about the business of winning souls.We�ve already won over a million people to Christ, but that all stopped dramatically two years ago when this Ministry was sued by a former employee, working at a management level, who along with an inside accomplice, harmed things so badly that it all but destroyed this 25 year outreach.

As many of you know, there have been many canceled concerts over the past year.The reason is simple.We always promoted our non-profit concerts ourselves and never went to an outside agency. It�s not that we had anything against them, it�s just that we didn�t have anything to pay that kind of talent with. Remember, this really is a non-profit work. But when all the money was lost from the ministry, we had no start-up capital to begin a new tour. For the first time in 20 years...it was gone. So, we tried to use a booking agency. But an agency operates on a simple business model. If it�s not turning a profit.... let it go. So when ticket sales aren�t what is expected, a concert must be canceled, simply to save losses.That�s why the concerts were here one minute, posted on the website, and then gone the next. Unlike in the past, the scheduling and canceling of these concerts was out of my total control as in years gone by. After further examining the source problems, those employees hindering the work had to be let go. And in the process, I uncovered a serious plot to defraud the ministry for $750,000.

We were actually sued by this one person, who worked with us on a managerial level, for �another� $200,000.That was a percentage of the money given to us by Larry Jones of �Feed the Children� to help feed hungry children and win the lost. I will name him and his accomplices later, as the trial progresses, in the next newsletters, e-mails blasts and on the website. It�s all public record anyway in Nashville.

We have hired the best attorneys you can find in Nashville, and they are confident that not only will we win this horrendous case but fully prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.There�s only one problem...Because we are a month-to-month ministry, we don�t have the finances necessary to defend ourselves and win the lost, too. I will post the court filings and transcripts on the website in the future so you can see exactly who these people are and what they did...but the worst thing they did is take away money that was to be used to win souls with and now has to be used to pay attorneys to protect the work.Thousands of souls have not come to Christ because of this terrible act.What can possibly be in the heart of someone to sue a soul winning non-profit organization dedicated for over 25 years to lifting up the name of Jesus and winning lost people into his kingdom? I just don�t know. I am as perplexed as you are. But this one thing I do know.........I have been trained by the spirit of God, not to make compromises and settlements with actions against the Ministry... but to FIGHT TO THE BITTER END. And to �Win.� Now, soldiers of the cross, here is what I need you to do:You are my core end-time warriors.You are the only ones who care enough to stand with me in this battle. God has Ministry for us to do in Carnivale� in Rio, a concert in Moscow in Red Square, infiltration into the dark world of Hollywood with the Gospel, and more tours to win more souls than ever before.We can�t quit now.

I need you to do two things that will make all the difference in the world in mounting an aggressive front in this attack against the Ministry. 1. Call every prayer chain and intercessor you can find.Those who will bring this need before the body of Christ nationwide and will intercede for this outreach and the plans against it to be halted dead in its tracks. 2.Write a check like you never have written before. Help me fight off this threat to our work together that we have never faced before. I can�t win lost souls and pay for court costs at the same time. And on the bottom of that check, I want you to write, clear as day...��WIN, JESUS,WIN.�� There are those of you who can send in $5 -10,000 right now and it wouldn�t change your standard of living one bit. It will cost well over $100,000 to take this all the way through the court system and WIN the battle we face over this Goliath. Most of you can write a check for $1,000. I�ve seen you do it for a gold record, now we need you to do it to help put young people�s feet on the streets of gold.Almost all of you can send in $100 or close to it.

This is a WAR. I will fight it. I will stand strong. But we can�t let them take away the Ministry that brings the concerts, the website, the out-reaches and the souls that nobody wants to go near. Send in your financial ammo today through the mail or ONLINE at www.Carman.org. Help us build this �War- Chest� and remember, on those check bottoms write ��WIN, JESUS, WIN�...I�ll do my part, you do yours and Jesus WILL win. Now don�t forget, this is �Your� Ministry every bit as it is mine......... I need you to act now.


Carman

[epdc]

WOW, I`m just.. speechless.... I`LL DEFINITELY WILL BE PRAYING...

I really like his honesty...I`LL BE PRAYING, GOD STILLS HAS GREAT PLANS and if they are receiving attacks is because a big blessing is coming, it means they are making a difference and the enemyis trying to stop it. Carman will get through this because of WHO is beside him the King od kings and Lord of lords!!!

[executioner]

I've never cared much for his style. I think he is very flamboyant in his concerts. also he heals people at his shows that do not need healing. I'm not saying he is all wrong, but nothing I've seen shows me he is doing this for the right reasons.

[LexingtonPethead]

I'm not a Carman fan either... been to a concert or two down through the years, but never cared for the charismatic flair or music style. Don't mean any offense to anyone, but while I am evangelical, I am not charismatic, and I just am not comfortable with the charismatic approach.

I didn't know he was doing any "healing" at his concerts. Too many others have turned this sort of thing into a mockery, and while I don't want to judge, I'm skeptical about this practice.

In spite of this, Carman seems forthright about the damage done to his ministry, and if this is true, then he really needs our prayers. I will be watching and praying.

[Michael]

I agree with everybody(!) ...in that I don't care for Carman's music (except for of course the song he did with Petra! ...and some of his old pre-1986 stuff) but if what he has said in this post is true, he does deserve our prayers. And heck, if we don't like the way he conducts his performances, we can throw in a prayer for the Lord to help him to do better.

[Shell]

I love the song he did with Petra, and I like some of his older songs, but I'm not a big fan of his either. It stinks that people he'd worked with would treat him this way though.

[LexingtonPethead]

Okay... you all will have to help me out here... what song did Carman do with Petra? I had no idea, you know, with their styles being so different and all.

[Petrapraise]

"Its Our Turn Now" is the song.
Its downloadable off of Johnwschlitt.com under the videos section.

[LexingtonPethead]

Well, I gotta say that this is definitely my FAVORITE Carman song!!