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The ORP has attracted plenty of critics, some within the Republican Party and plenty more without. Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, calls it "the most dangerous model I've seen in years." Apparently operating on the theory that if Barry Lynn is upset, they must be doing something right, the ORP trumpets this quote in its promotional brochure.

Fifteen minutes into a revival service in Botkins, Ohio, the side door opens and Rod Parsley enters with an entourage—security, staff, personal assistant, and Parsley's daughter. On stage in the not-quite-complete sanctuary of Only Believe Ministries, 25 people lead worship, backed by an even larger choir.

Parsley doesn't "do" small, even when he visits other churches. Parsley tells CT that in 30 years of ministry, ever since he dropped out of Circleville Bible College and launched World Harvest as a Bible study in his backyard, the church has been putting "bricks on bricks" for all but 18 months.

Despite a national presence (he stood beside President Bush at a June press conference to support the Marriage Protection Amendment), he still concentrates most of his political efforts on Ohio, where he has founded two groups.

Reformation Ohio focuses on evangelism and voter registration, with a goal of preaching the gospel to 1 million Ohioans in the next three and a half years. The other group, the Center for Moral Clarity (cmc), deals with issues like defending the American flag from desecration and confirming conservative federal judges.

Parsley is a stunning speaker when seen live, a physical dynamo with a linebacker's build and charisma so powerful that entire congregations lean forward when he speaks. Some newspapers have dubbed him the "raging prophet." Parsley's preaching is like a river fed by the three streams of evangelism, politics, and money. Once he starts speaking, boundaries between the three are fluid, like they are in Botkins.

Parsley spends 15 minutes explaining how the cmc has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court regarding an upcoming abortion case. He runs through several emotional tales of children who survived abortions as their pictures flash on the screens above. But amicus briefs don't write themselves. Soon the donation envelopes go around; $40 gets you a World Harvest Reformation Bible and a copy of the brief.

This plea for money is a staple of Parsley's services, with people urged to stand up, raise their hands, or hold their cash in the air. Parsley routinely exhorts church members and viewers of his television show to donate (or "sow a seed") with the expectation that God will bless them 30, 60, or 100 times.

Parsley has written that "the power to create wealth is one of God's gifts under the covenant" and that James 5:3, 7 promises "that in the last days there is going to be a great transfer of wealth [to Christians]."

He is living proof of the "success" of this prosperity gospel. News reports and property records have detailed his 7,000-square-foot home, his San Diego vacation property, and his two $60,000 vehicles. In high demand as a speaker, Parsley travels everywhere by private jet, even to Botkins, a small town two hours by car from his base near Columbus.

Parsley knows how to rally the Botkins faithful before leaving: an altar call, a slaying in the Spirit, a plea for voter registration.

"It's a Holy Ghost invasion!" he shouts as he wraps up the evening, recycling the cry from the Statehouse steps. "Lock and load! Man your battle stations!"

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November 2006, Vol. 50, No. 11