"It was February of 1978 and I was a college junior at Mississippi State University. Sitting in Sarris's restaurant, I was invited to a campus meeting by two students, one of which was Steve Murrell, then a freshman. Although I had been born again, I was desperately searching for the power of God in my life. Walking into a small meeting that night, I was introduced to the pastor's wife Linda, who seemed to be feeling ill. Later I was told that she had been fasting for God to send leaders to their new campus church. Her husband Walter was speaking that night and well, to make a long story short, I raised my hand while he was trying to speak and asked did he believe in this thing I had read about in Scripture called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He and several others eventually prayed for me and I received God's promise (Acts 1:8) that night.

Over the next few years, Walter and Linda Walker were excellent pastors to me, Steve and many others. Today, after working for Charisma magazine, writing many books for many prominent Christian leaders and working for Crowne ministries for almost ten years, he lives in Nashville and attends our church. He is currently working for the Youth Life Learning Centers alongside James and Debbie Lowe. God has been so faithful to bring back into our lives such a wonderful couple." - Rice Broocks


[See the Christianity Today article for Walter Walker and Rose Weiner's take on the ad hoc committee meeting and Bob Weiner's take on their "revelation." Youth Life Centers is Darrell Green's outfit. See the link below for details on Darrell Green's White House connections. Walker wrote frequently for the Forerunner, Maranatha's newspaper and Rose Weiner's branchild. Lee Grady, founding editor of the Forerunner, later became editor of Charisma. ]

[www.webspawner.com]

Another key player in Nashville is Stephen Mansfield. Richard Bartholomew, a religion columnist for Salon, has paid a lot of attention to Broocks. Mansfield finally answered him. But why does Mansfield need to do damage control for Broocks, why doesn't Broocks himself get on his own denomination's message board and set the record straight - about Sirotnak, Bonasso, Ball, Feste, the lawsuits, and everything else.

Mansfield hooked up with Broocks after being divorced and being removed from his position at Belmont Church in Nashville. He gives Broocks credit for getting him through this difficult period. Mansfield is into Dominion Theology, otherwise known as Reconstructionism, otherwise known as the Cultural Mandate. He wrote the best seller, The Faith of George W. Bush. He ghost wrote Tom Delay's biography. He also wrote a biography of the late Pope John Paul. Charisma's cover story on the Pope after his death was written by Mansfield.

Among Mansfield's biographies is one on the late Derek Prince. Prince was one of the formost Bible teachers of the 20th century, one of the pioneers of the Charismatic movement, one of the pioneers of the deliverance movement, and one of the pioneers of the shepherding movement. He was also one of the most prominent ministers involved in - forgive the term - Jewish flavored Christianity. He spent six months a year in Israel and even taught in one of Israel's Bible schools. He met his first wife in Israel and wrote a very popular biography of her entitled Appointment in Jerusalem.

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New website:

[www.webspawner.com]

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Wage Vigilance
by Cheryl Smith
Austin Chronicle
December 28th, 2007


Carla Cheatham, executive director of the Religion and Labor Network of Austin, leads a prayer during a Dec. 3 candlelight vigil at the Cumberland Road Salvation Army as part of an effort to get local businessman Gregory Feste to pay former employees of his now out-of-business Cheesecake Kitchen.


Has the Grinch relocated from Whoville?

According to the Religion and Labor Net­work of Austin, which recently held a candlelight vigil at the Cumberland Road Salvation Army in an effort to get a local businessman to pay former employees of his now out-of-business restaurant, the anti-Christmas curmudgeon now lives here. The RALN ¨C a branch of the Equal Justice Center, a self-described "non-profit organization that includes several projects supporting workplace justice for low and moderate-income working families" ¨C says Gregory Feste, former owner of West Lake Hills' Cheesecake Kitchen (previously Ruggles Grill), which went out of business in early October, owes 13 workers about $15,000 for labor performed between Sept. 11 and Oct. 4. The group also accuses Feste, who is outspoken about his Christian faith, of being a hypocrite.

"We are asking Mr. Feste to honor his faith and pay these workers from his personal resources," reads an RALN press release for the Dec. 3 vigil. "The workers wish to impress upon [him] the importance of remember[ing] how his actions impact individual workers, many of whom are single parents, and are not corporations with the resources to survive a businessman failing to pay his debts."

Feste, also the former CEO of the Austin Wranglers arena football team, could not be reached for comment.

"His contention is that he has no money," said Carla Cheatham, the RALN's executive director, who, along with dozens of others involved in the effort to claim the workers' wages, talked to Feste at his West Lake Hills-area home the week before the Salvation Army vigil. "We even prayed with him there on his front porch," Cheatham said. "Our approach is not [that he's] bad or evil. [It's] how can we work together to resolve this peacefully so that everyone gets what they deserve."

Based on an Oct. 28 story by Statesman reporter Robert Elder, "Greg Feste's telling trails of fumbles," Feste, who has been involved in multiple failed business ventures, could be telling the truth. Ruggles Restau­rant Group, which Feste established in Hous­ton, to which the Cheesecake Kitchen belonged, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.

Emily Timm, a community organizer with the Workers Defense Project ¨C which is also a product of the Equal Justice Center and is working with the 13 laborers to help them claim their wages ¨C said "it's our understanding that all of the employees of the restaurant are owed their last two weeks' pay." For example, 35-year-old Jesus Martinez, one of the former Cheesecake Kitchen employees, said he started as a cook at the restaurant on Aug. 12 and that he is owed about $1,300 in pay. The Workers Defense Project hasn't heard from Feste, said Timm, although it did recently receive a letter about the bankruptcy process from his attorney. On Dec. 21, some of the former employees filed a proof of claim in bankruptcy court to see if Ruggles Restaurant Group has any assets left, Timm said.

"If there are any assets in the liquidation, they would have a chance to receive the compensation that they're entitled to," she said. The Feste nonpayment case is one of several similar cases that RALN and WDP is pursuing.

Greg Feste Source of Austin Wranglers Financial Woes

By Robert Elder
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Austin Wranglers football team has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing nearly $6 million in liabilities and its failure to settle a judgment against the team and its flamboyant founder, Greg Feste.

Team President Doug MacGregor said the bankruptcy filing will not affect the team's upcoming 16-game season in Arena Football 2. The Wranglers start the season March 29 at the Erwin Center.

This will have no impact on our season and on our plans for the future in keeping Arena Football in Austin," said MacGregor, a former Dell Inc. executive who took over as president after the team's ownership group forced out Feste in 2004, shortly after its inaugural season.

To save money, the Wranglers last year moved to AF2, a lower-quality version of the Arena Football League in which it had played.

In its Chapter 7 liquidation filing in Austin on Wednesday, the team said it has assets of $525,726 ¡ª mostly equipment, uniforms and electronics. The Wranglers now operate under a separate corporate entity that is making the payments needed to keep the team going, MacGregor said.

Court documents show a team that has burned through millions of dollars since its founding.

The biggest secured creditor is Wachovia Bank, which is owed $2.3 million on a loan. The Wranglers' filing says it doesn't expect any money to be left for unsecured creditors.
Among the largest unsecured creditors are investors in the franchise. MacGregor is owed $258,373. Another limited partner in the team, Jim Schneider, a former chief financial officer at Dell, is owed $793,175.

Texas AF2 Holdings, a MacGregor-run company that operates the Wranglers and AF2 franchises in eight other cities nationwide, has a claim for $2.2 million.

MacGregor said the holding company has written off that entire amount. The money was used to keep the Wranglers afloat in the 2007 season, when the team was in the main AFL.
MacGregor said Feste's legal problems prompted the bankruptcy filing.

Feste, who promoted himself as a successful entrepreneur in various fields, including sports, financial services and real estate, was a heavy spender while lining up investors for the Wranglers in 2003 and 2004. Private jets were one of his extravagances.

According to U.S. District Court filings in Austin by NetJets, Feste took 27 flights in four months in late 2003 and early 2004. He created a company, Feste Capital Management, to pay the lease fees.

But "FCM had no assets and its sole purpose was to own the NetJets lease," U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin said in a ruling last year.

Feste could not be reached for comment, and a message sent through one of his lawyers was not returned.

NetJets won a judgment in 2005 against Feste in U.S. District Court in Ohio for $331,000 in unpaid bills; the company is pursing collection in federal court here because Austin is listed as the headquarters for most of Feste's companies.

Because Feste said in court filings that some of the flights were for Wranglers business, the team is on the hook for about $163,000 of the judgment.

The team could not pay the judgment, MacGregor said, and it couldn't reach a settlement with NetJets.

Matthew Wymer, a San Antonio lawyer for NetJets, said the Wranglers' offer "simply didn't fall within the acceptable range of what was necessary to settle their portion of the case."
Wymer said NetJets, either through bankruptcy proceedings or its federal litigation, will continue to try to collect its money.

"To the extent the Austin Wranglers have the ability to pay, we will flush that out," he said.

The notorious Phil Bonasso is back in action. He's in Irvine California. Seriously, we should have known he wouldn't stay underground very long. The name of his church is Storyteller.

"We are inviting passionate Christians, filmmakers, actors, artists, musicians, singers, dancers, song writers, directors, web designers, stage designers, producers, fashion designers, business people, entrepreneurs, along with all other men, women, and children who would be excited about our vision, to consider joining our team! "




[www.storytellerchurch.com]