THE JOHN CARTER STORY
From time to time we receive requests for information on the evangelist, John Carter. Here is a very brief update:
We
first learned about Carter from faithful historic pastors in Australia. He
had recently completed an evangelistic series in the new Sydney Opera
House (the imposing building with the “wings” on it, alongside Sydney
Harbor). Elder Neal C. Wilson
wanted to bring him to the North American Division to be a major
evangelist here. We
learned at that time, from faithful historic Adventist pastors over there,
that Carter was solidly new theology, a very close friend of Desmond Ford,
and far more brilliant and dangerous than Ford. We were told that Carter
had a powerful, charismatic personality, superior to that of Ford. So,
at that time (July 1984), we published The Carter Approach, a
two-part tract set [WM-82-83], which discussed the situation. Enough
protests were lodged at the General Conference that, when Elder Wilson
asked the North American Division Committee to place a call for Carter to
come to America, they turned him down. That action seems surprising today,
since it would not happen now. So
arrangements were worked out to bring Carter in the backdoor. A
major evangelistic effort was held in the Caribbean; Jamaica, as I recall.
We received the full-color ad sheets on it at the time. John is an expert
at preparing outstanding full-color (and very expensive) circulars to
advertise his campaigns. The
next step was to approach the then president of the Texas Conference, and
request that he accept John Carter in—to be the pastor of the Forth
Worth, Texas, Seventh-day Adventist Church. This
was accomplished, and Carter moved to Texas. We discussed the situation in
John Carter Update [WM—82-83], a July 1986 publication. From
Texas, John was called to the Southern California Conference as a
conference evangelist. But
what happened after that? Here is the rest of the story. Elder
Dart, president of the Southern California Conference, called John Carter
to pastor the Hollywood Church. I
first heard of that church in the early 1950s. It was already astoundingly
liberal, and served coffee and cake between services on Sabbath morning.
Situated next to the Hollywood Freeway, right at its exit, it is in a
location to command the attention of hundreds of thousands of cars every
day. Arriving
at the Hollywood Church, Carter decided that what was needed was an
imposing building, alongside the existing church, with hanging gardens
draped from the giant steps on one side. With this purpose in mind, he had
a professional design an architectural view of what it would look like. Declaring
that the Hollywood Church was going to build it, he circulated copies of
the two sketches of it in various churches in southern California. (See
page four for a view of the sketches; they are described on the bottom of
page three.) When
asked how it would be financed, he said that the middle floors of the
building would be leased out to non-Adventist businesses. Even
the name of the office building, he said would be a witness: It would be
called the “Sabbath Tower.” The
new church was to be built on the present parking lot, with several
underground levels for parking. According to the architectural sketches,
there would be many floors to the building. Carter’s plan called for a
radio station in one of the top floors, from which, hopefully, he could
broadcast to southern California. Although
he tried to enlist the support of the local church membership, they were
deeply upset about the whole project. They cared not that the bottom
rotunda auditorium area would be an auditorium, and the top floors would
be palatial offices of Carter and his staff. They wanted out! They did not
want their church property turned into an office building, with worldlings
passing through on Sabbath. But
John Carter was not a man to give up on a project, and he continued urging
it, saying that the large circular auditorium and the base of the step
pyramid could be used as a city-wide evangelistic center, which he could
use to reach the whole city. Within
about three months, the church board of the Hollywood Church asked the
conference for a replacement. So John left Hollywood. At
this juncture, Carter told the conference officers that he was ready to
conduct a major campaign in Los Angeles, which would have most startling
results. However, tithes and offerings in the Southern California
Conference had been low, and they hesitated to go forward with a really
large campaign, such as he proposed. He
told them that, if they would let him give a series of meeting in a major
rented auditorium, a rich doctor in Australia had promised to give to give
him $200,000 for advertising those meetings. So
the conference went ahead and authorized the evangelistic series—and
spent the money on advertising, in good faith that it would be returned. A
wide area was covered by both television and newspaper ads. Tickets
were required to attend all meetings, and everyone had to pass through one
door, where the tickets were collected. The guards took the tickets and
handed them directly to one person. That person was an attorney, with
several degrees in addition to his law degree. At one time he had worked
in the White House and the State Department. But later he decided to enter
the ministry. It
was his task to count the tickets for conference records. But, when the
attorney read, in the newspapers, that “thousands” were attending the
meetings, he told Carter that the attendance figure he had given the
newspapers did not agree with the number of tickets actually counted.
Carter, in reply, said, “You can’t count!” This
attorney, who had completed graduate work in economics, was told he could
not count! According to the ticket count, the attorney said the average
attendance was about 1,200—never in the thousands. And never did 23,000
attend the meetings. The attendance at the immense Shrine Auditorium was
not large, and rapidly diminished as the meetings progressed. Publicity
photos were taken and released through
secular and church publications. But they were always of five to ten
people sitting close together; never of the huge, nearly empty arena. All
the conference ministers were told to attend the meetings and assist. But
there were pastors who later said that Carter was extremely hard to work
with, and treated them like inferiors. When
that series ended, there were almost no baptisms. However,
it was claimed that there were 10,000 ready for baptism. Later, a lesser
number was cited, and then it was said that there were 600 people who were
going to help him build a new church. He claimed to have the money to do
this. But nothing happened. About
the time the meetings closed, Carter asked several of the ministers to
accompany him to Africa for a series of meetings. They would have to pay
their own way and cover all their own expenses, but Carter said he had
checks for various large amounts to cover all other expenses. But no
pastors would agree to go with him. A
few weeks later, John was on the rostrum of the Loma Linda University
Church, where he appealed for people to go to Russia with him for a series
of evangelistic meetings. Each must pay his own expenses; Carter said he
had checks for $80,000, $70,000, etc., to cover other expenses. (He later
went to Russia and held meetings.) By
this time, the Los Angeles Evangelistic Series had been finished for a
number of months, and the conference treasurer decided it was time to get
the money, which had been spent for campaign advertising, from Carter. John’s
reply was that it was on the way. Later, asked again, he said that the
doctor had sent the money to a bank in Florida. After more time elapsed,
the conference asked again, and Carter said it was “frozen” in that
bank in Florida. The
attorney, mentioned earlier, was chairman of the conference committee on
finances, as well as a conference pastor. He checked on the matter, and,
according to his report, there never had been any such money in that
Florida bank or any other. No bank in Florida had had its accounts frozen. According
to the attorney, John Carter still owes over $200,000 to the Southern
California Conference. Of
course, in the future, the failure of the Los Angeles effort and the
repayment problem would hurt his ability to get any conference to back him
for evangelistic meetings. Then
Carter made contact with Three Angels Broadcasting Ministry, in southern
Illinois, and began speaking on their telecasts. Rather quickly, they
became firm friends, a friendship which has continued on down to the
present time. Yet that is strange, in view of John’s new theology
stance. Next,
Carter started his own Celebration church in Glendale, California. Called
the “Community Adventist Fellowship,” it is held in the
Community Christian Church building, on Colorado Boulevard. This
church had no connection with the Southern California Conference, and
Carter told people he was on his own. But, about six months ago, he and
the conference agreed to bury the hatchet. It could be a conference
church, as long as two offerings were taken each church service—one for
the conference (tithe and church expense) and the other for Carter’s
projects. He
has 300-500 actual members. The building holds 2,000. We recently received
a phone call from a couple who have been attending that church. They
report the members come from area Adventist churches, drawn by the drums,
music, and razzle-dazzle of Carter. Money
comes in because he goes to Russia occasionally to speak. Carter claims to
have brought in 5,000 converts over there, but no one is able to verify
it. Russia is a long way off. He recently went back for another eight-day
trip. Several
wealthy members in his church have given him money for his Russia trips.
John frequently goes back to Texas to solicit money from friends he made,
while pastor of the Fort Worth Church. In
September and October, 1994, he held a three-week series at the Pasadena,
California, Civic Auditorium. He announced that the meetings cost $5,000 a
night. Five hundred attended the first weekend, but then it dwinded down
to about 100 after that. When
Joe Crews died, Carter’s friends urged Amazing Facts to hire him as
Joe’s successor. But Amazing Facts was firm in refusing to do so. 2 - CARTER’S THEOLOGY What
are John Carter’s theological positions? For ten years, we have been
told by faithful, historic pastors in Australia, that
Carter is solidly new theology, a close friend of Desmond Ford’s,
and far more charismatic than Ford. After his arrival in the United
States, we had no reason to doubt that report. New
theology ministers can be far more subtle in their presentations than were
the old-fashioned heretics. When Albion Ballenger spoke and wrote at the
turn of the century, he never swerved from his message. Although it was
error, yet he had the integrity to stand by that which he was teaching. But,
according to who is listening, new theology advocates can be quick to
tailor-make their assertions. For this reason, it can be somewhat harder
to draw them out. But
here is how to do it. Privately, ask them a few key questions. They will
either evade the point, or give an answer somewhat like the samples below: Is
there a sanctuary—an actual building—in heaven? Does it have two
apartments? (“No.” / “I don’t know what’s in heaven!”) Where
did Jesus go in A.D. 31? Did He enter the first apartment and begin an
antitypical daily ministry there at that time? (“He entered into the
presence of God.” / “I don’t know where He went.”) What
happened in 1844? Did Jesus leave the first apartment and go into the
second apartment at that time? (“Nothing happened in 1844.” / “The
church started in 1844.”) If
the one you are speaking with is sharp, he may say, “Jesus started a
different phase of His ministry.” That is a favorite device. But he will
not agree that there are two rooms in the heavenly Sanctuary, and that
Jesus passed from one room to the other in 1844. Back
in the 1980s, Carter would avoid
answering such questions. Recently, when asked again, he did this:
Bringing his face up very close to the face of the lady who asked, he
said, “What business is it of yours, what I believe?” That
answer told exactly where he stood on the question asked (about obedience
to the law of God, and the Sanctuary in heaven). Similar
questions can be asked about the necessity of obedience to the law of God. Perhaps
the most obvious question which Carter either answers incorrectly, or not
at all,—is to ask him whether there is a new theology apostasy among the
pastors and leaders in our church in Australia. Since he is from
Australia, and solidly shares in it, he will tell you that there is no
apostasy in Australia, except among some breakaway groups and renegade
pastors who are no longer permitted to pastor churches there. One
couple, who has been attending Carter’s church, told us last week that
church members and officers have witnessed his temper outbursts on a
number of occasions. When this couple have asked him about theology, he
gets an angry look and turns away. “We
are not to receive the words of those who come with a message that
contradicts the special points of our faith. They gather together a mass
of Scripture, and pile it as proof around their asserted theories. This
has been done over and over again during the past fifty years. And while
the Scriptures are God’s Word, and are to be respected, the application
of them, if such application moves one pillar from the foundation that God
has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake.”—Counsels to
Writers and Editors, 32.
Two architectural sketches were
prepared at Carter’s request, while pastor of the Hollywood Seventh-day
Adventist Church, and then circulated widely among southern California
churches. Each of the
two drawings show the Hollywood Freeway on the right, with the exit
ramp leading from it at the bottom. Jutting out on the right, next to the
freeway, is the existing Adventist church. To the left of it, in what is
now its large parking lot, would be the hanging gardens building, rising
above a domed auditorium. That circular auditorium would have two sets of
clerestory windows above it, letting in light. There would be rectangular planters
along the outer edge of the building “steps,” for plants and ivy. The
small circles are said to be “tree containers,” in which small trees
would be planted (compare the two drawings). It is written in the sketch
that there would be 100,000 square feet of commercial office space in the
center section of the building. The lower central sides of the building
would have one type of glass on the outside. The building’s upper
left sides would be recessed, with of a different color of glass siding. The low, circular building, on the lower
left, would have several underground floors for parking. The top section of the office building
was to be reserved for a suite of rooms for John and his radio station. The entire structure would have made an imposing spectacle, but at great expense. |
