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"I lost the house, I lost my credit, and I almost lost my church," Smith told CT outside the courtroom.

In a challenging cross-examination, defense attorney Sharon Samek took Smith sharply to task. Showing him, and then the jury, the group's gifting form, she highlighted its terms "donation," "giving," and the phrases "no guarantee" and "the only promise is what God gives in his word."

Turning back to Smith, Samek said, "You were not being honest when you signed this form, were you?"

Smith squirmed and hesitated, then answered, "What do you mean by 'honest'?"

John Kingston bored in on the same point: "You saw something that wasn't on this form, correct?" After another hesitation, Smith answered, "I signed gift with the understanding that it didn't mean that."

While much more testimony and evidence will be presented, such exchanges are likely to be at the center of the jury's deliberations. Did Greater Ministries deceive thousands of givers like Stephen Smith and bilk them out of tens of millions of dollars? Or did Smith and the others act out of avarice and deceive themselves? Add to these the question of how far the government can go in regulating church activities, and you have the makings of a memorable showdown.

All the while, the turkey buzzards outside continue their flight patterns.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Chuck Fager began reporting on Greater Ministries for Christianity Today in March of 1999 with "Judge Orders Gift Refunds: Greater Ministries found in contempt of court" and "$100 Million Missing in Greater Ministries Scandal."

Fager has also covered other religious money-making schemes for CT like, "$12 Million Fraud Scheme Parallels Greater Ministries."

About 15 of the Greater Ministries news stories from The Tampa Tribune are available here, including the latest "Videos portray fall of Greater Ministries."

Read CNN and Time's "Breach of Faith" or watch a video portion of a Greater Ministries money appeal from 1999.

Other news coverage includes:

Jury selection begins in church fraud trial — UPI (Jan. 8, 2001)

Fighting fraud — The (Colorado Springs) Gazette (Dec. 13, 2000)

Second Tampa church elder pleads guilty in fake investment scheme — Associated Press (Dec.1, 2000)

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March 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 4