According to the Star-Telegram, Arlington Tx, Usa, Oct 2nd 2007 Michael Beckwith, founder of Agape, a new age ‘church’ was faced with lawsuits and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars to creditors and women who sued the church and its pastor for sexual misconduct, could satisfy its creditors by selling land for $1 million.
The once-thriving church and ministry has struggled to regain its footing since former pastor Terry Hornbuckle was convicted of raping a woman who attended services there. Church leaders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.
“We’ve worked diligently to the best of our knowledge to work to rapidly exit bankruptcy,” said Davor Rukavina, a Dallas bankruptcy lawyer hired by the church.
A hearing to discuss the sale is scheduled in U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn’s court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. If the court approves the sale, Rukavina will file a reorganization plan for the creditors’ attorneys to approve.
The sale of the 16 acres, which also includes oil and gas leases from Chesapeake Energy, should give the church enough cash to satisfy settlements from three lawsuits brought by the rape victims, Rukavina said. He declined to discuss the sale in detail but said he or church officials would be willing to talk after Wednesday’s hearing.
The church’s finances appear to be improving as members continue to pay their tithes, according to a financial sheet filed with the bankruptcy court.
During a recent Sunday, about 300 church members, mostly women, jumped, danced and shouted praises as gospel music was piped through the large speakers above the stage inside the sanctuary of the 42,000-square-foot facility.
The church at 2350 E. Mayfield Road is tax-exempt. In the filing, the church says it owes the city of Arlington, the Arlington school district and Tarrant County more than $47,000 in back taxes and penalties for 16 undeveloped acres next to the church that is valued at about $1 million.
The church fired Hornbuckle in September 2006. Renee Hornbuckle was installed as the church’s new pastor this past weekend.
Renee Hornbuckle, who holds a business degree and a master’s degree in biblical studies, is paid $15,000 a month according to court documents. Offerings from July and August are more than $60,000 a month.
Agape Christian Fellowship was originally started as Victory Temple Bible Church in a former Dairy Queen building in Irving in the mid-1980s. The church was renamed Agape Christian Fellowship in 1992. The church once had 2,500 members but dropped to about 300 before the trial.
New Age Deception 
I don’t think rev michael is being exposed here he is a great man and always will be now whoever had a bad experience in his church its on them
Gaz Parker is delusional and the “false profit” one needs to be careful of. Agape is a transdenominational church in Culver City, CA with its primary focus on the Christian teachings of Jesus. He is not connected in any way with the church in Texas with the same …similar name. Spreading lies is not being a Christian.
Michael Bernard Beckwith founded Agape in California. Please remove his name from this deceptive and false blog. I have been a member of Agape since 1992. Please do not speak of someone bringing absolute integrity and potential of the highest order out of myself and our congregation with such lies. Thank you.
Laura,
My background growing up in a non denominational church. I went to Rhema Bible College and graduated. Rhema Bible College puts more of an emphasis on your faith and what you can believe God for via trusting him for things and monetary materials. I understand that God does provide for us however I recognize that there is more emphasis on physical healing and physical things. I left church because of the constant push for money, guilt, and manipulation coming from those in the pulpit. And the condemnation that leaders would put on congregants. Some years later I started viewing the movie, “The Secret” Michael Beckwith was in this movie sharing his enlightened view and that took me down a very dark path into all kinds of wickedness. I believe that what Michael teaches is a form of witchcraft it’s not biblical it puffs up your ego and your fleshly desires. What he teaches is pleasing to our selfish flesh but it is not biblical in the sense that Yeshua – Jesus Christ was the perfect lamb of God that came to save sinners. From the clips that I have seen he does not open the scripture text to show you what it says he throws scripture around and imposes his own ideas onto the text. This is extremely dangerous. Mr. Beckwith is a smooth operator and I believe demonic the garbage he is spewing from his mouth it sounds great to a sinner but he does not preach the gospel of JESUS CHRIST. I got involved with the new age and the law of attraction and this is very dangerous teachings it’s devoid of the truth. One other thing I would like to add that I discovered in my journey out of this garbage and out of the teachings of Rhema Bible College is that founder Kenneth Hagin studied the teachings of EW Kenyon who studied after a man by the name of Phineas Quimby this man was not even a Christian he was a hypnotist, a new ager, new thought teachers… EW Kenyon may have had some biblical concepts. This is the most dangerous form of teaching because of the fact that this person throws scripture around but is taking things way out of context and also he is changing the bible to fit his narrative. This is so scary especially when the scripture itself says to the one who adds or takes away from this book that God will add to him the plagues of this book. Please friend for your sake please study the bible for yourself or some good ministers John MacArthur, Voddie Bachman, Ligonier, RC Sproul… Be very careful with dividing God’s word. We as humans we are not wise and we have all kinds of imaginations that have the potential to get us in serious trouble. The bible says that “Our Hearts are desperately wicked who can know it.” We deceive ourselves!!!
this event has nothing to do with Michael Beckwith and I am sure that a congregation numbering over 8,000 would not be considered a struggling spiritual center.
This is not Michael Beckwith’s church. His church is in Los Angeles, CA, I have been there. This church with it’s sexual predator minister is in Texas. The headline must belong to another article or perhaps since he is a famous person you are trying to get internet hits from his fame. You should be ashamed, bearing false witness is a SIN. Do you think Jesus Christ needs you to lie and cheat for Him? You turn his name into an abomination with your lies and deceit. Correct your site or take it down.
Thank you, Sandra!
Just because he heads a church doesn’t make him a saint!
Just because he head a different church in another state doesn’t make him connected with this sorry story! His name doesn’t belong on this story at all.
The name of the church is the same, but in different states and not connected with Michael Beckwith in anyway. It is a disservice and unchristian for Jaz Parker to be spreading such lies. “Father forgive him, he knows not..”
The names of the church are not the same. The church in Culver City, which Dr, Rev.
Michael Bernard Beckwith is the Minister is named Agape International Spiritual Center. Someone should check their facts before slandering a beautiful Gifted man.
This is a hit piece, repute with false accusations and lies. If you purport to speak on behalf of “Truth,” you should be ashamed of yourself.
the word you are looking for is “replete” not “repute”
Shame on you!!! I bet he has enough people accusing him of things without you adding to it. You need to correct the article either to involve him in whatever part you can prove he holds in this or remove his name and his church and apologize at the least. Remove the inaccurate info as well, his congregation is far from the number you listed and this isn’t even the right church or location. Shame on you!
The internet has opened the world of communication and has its pros and cons. This is a “con”. The name of Rev. Michael’s church is Agape, but it is located in Culver City (Los Angeles), California, NOT in Texas. He has nothing to do with that church or this story that Jaz Parker has made up. This story needs to be taken down.
The person who printed this article shoud be sued
WRONG CHURCH, WRONG PEW
Um, Gaz? You’re a confused, sad person. Wake up, get your names, states and churches straight. Agape International Spiritual Center, founded by Rev. Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, is – trust me – thriving in Culver City, California. By the way, we don’t spend ANY of our precious time looking for ways to tear down churches and ministers of other faiths. Get a life.
This article has absolutely nothing to do with Rev Michael Bernard Beckwith,(The Secret) his church is The Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City Ca, which is a 30 yr old ministry. It’s misleading and slanderous to have his name tied to this church in Arlington TX.
I am a christian and dr micheal beckwith does not deny christ but encourages people to look within and question..why is everyone trying to prove people wrong..God given intuition…who is telling the truth…
OMG 8 YEARS LATER AND THIS IS STILL UP? YOU FOOLS HAVE THE WRONG MAN!!!! WOW! THIS IS NOT THE SAME MICHAEL BECKWITH IN CALIFORNIA! EVERYONE KNOWS THIS AND THESE BASTARDS STILL HAVE THIS FALSE STORY UP.
I did not believe this website’s opinion. The positivity this man gives the world… they can’t take away from us, Israel.
You are a disgusting person defaming a wonderful, beautiful man WITH THE WRONG INFO. Do yourself and the rest of us a favor by removing this sludge and instead of wasting time tearing good people down, why don’t you look within and see what POSITIVE you can bring to this planet instead?
We don’t need anymore liars and slanderers tearing down those who dedicate their entire lives to uplifting society. If you have any humanity, you ought to be ashamed of yourself and pray to whatever “God” you believe in for ways to make up for such horrific behavior.
What type of website that would slander Michael Beckwith who is the founder of church called agape in Los Angeles and has nothing to do with the agape Church in Texas? How do you let that stand and corrected for nine years?
I was predated by Michael Bernard Beckwith and his reverends beginning in February 2011. I was predated COVERTLY but was in contact with him and/or his people around the clock from then until recently. I was promised many things and told to get there asap. Which I did only to be brutally robbed, abused, surgically injured, and character assassinated. The abuse never stopped to this day eight and a half years later. It took me a long time to understand how he lied to everyone around me so that no one ever believed the truth of what he did to me and my life. It was diabolical psychopathic level predation and stalking. I did not know anything about this type of covert abuse and could never have imagined what was actually done to my life. I would like to hear from other people who may have had similar experiences. I am currently seeking legal counsel as I have been left homeless, with disability and surgical injury, without a support system, and all family and friends have been take from me by Beckwith’s lies. He has also had me gangstlaked and hacked on every platform including my phone and car. Please send me a note if you can tell me of anyone else who had a similar experience or if you know an attorney who will help me. rcbolton@aol.com Thank you.
I have been to AGAPE , michael is a great visionary, his only intention is to bring people to the truth of what they really are and where they came from and what their purpose is on this planet if he sometimes refers to manifestation to gain something like money for example is to get people fired up because thats what gets people fired up but outside looking in it seems as he is trying to cause people to create attachments to this world, I thought that too in the biginning but He loves people so much that he is willing to get people wake up by anymeans possible.And its all about perception of what he is preaching. Choose your perceptionand know that judging resenting all that does creats more negative energy regardless what his real purpose is Do that for yourself Let yourself free by not judging him or accusing him for wrong doings no matter what. Instead send him your love and blessings to him and you will prosper also. michael beckwith is a magnificent man we honor him love him and respect him always as us. Let your negative energy go and replace it with love. This is what michael teaches us , because he knows.
I LOVE YOU MICHAEL
You are the typical person who sees one face of a two faced person and you blame the victim instead of holding the abuser responsible. I loved him too but that did not mean he did not destroy my life. He did. And that is not about playing victim or misperception.
You’re mixing up two churches: Agape International Spiritual Center in CA (Beckwith) with the one your article ACTUALLY talks about- Agape Christian Fellowship Church in Irving TX. Yikes! Bad reporting!