The Christian Sentinel Report
April 19, 2000
CRI Founder's Family Publicly Denounces Hanegraaff
ã 2000 Christian Sentinel
Darlene Martin, widow of CRI founder Walter Martin reveals that Christian Research Institute [CRI] president Hank Hanegraaff used trickery to get her to introduce him as the new leader of her late husband’s ministry shortly after his funeral. Walter Martin's daughter has issued the statement:
"My father died without naming any successor to Christian Research Institute and "The Bible Answer Man" radio show, and contrary to what was said at the time of his death, Hank Hanegraaff was never "handpicked" by Walter Martin. Darlene Martin was a newly widowed woman, vulnerable and trusting, and there were those around her who took full advantage of that trust."
The family is now asking Hanegraaff for proof that Walter Martin had chosen him as his successor and the "secret" board meeting where Hanegraaff was supposedly elected as the new CEO of the Christian Research Institute.
"...What we did not find out until years later was that Everett Jacobson and Hank Hanegraaff had a "closed door" meeting at CRI within days after my father's death, and the result of that meeting--according to a CRI Board member at the time--was the naming of Hank Hanegraaff as CEO of Christian Research Institute. We ask Hank now:"Please provide the proof that Walter Martin chose you as his successor. He never mentioned this to his wife, his children, his brother, his board or his closest friends. He never announced this privately or publicly *before* his death. It was only *after* Walter Martin was dead that this claim was made."
"Please provide the minutes of the CRI Board Meeting immediately following my father's death in which the CEO position was discussed and voted upon."
"Why is this question of succession so important? It has to do with integrity. If Hank Hanegraaff's personal "work" is suspect, if his behavior is questioned by many witnesses, than what of his claim to CRI? We believe that claim should also be closely examined."
"The night of my father's memorial service, as Darlene Martin approached the lectern, Everett Jacobson and Hank Hanegraaff intercepted her. It was suggested that some additional things be added to her speech ". . . in order to make a smooth transition." The words did not register at the time, as most things do not when you have just buried a loved one twenty-four hours before. When Darlene came to the end of her statements and began to read the new sentences, she was appalled. There she stood, in front of 1500 people, stating Hank Hanegraaff was the new man for CRI. All she could think as she read was, "Walt never said this."
"Why did Darlene Martin allow this to stand for so many years? Why did she support Hank? At the time, she believed he was a man of integrity, and she hoped (and kept hoping) God could mold him into a strong leader. She trusted Everett Jacobson and Hank Hanegraaff. She was grief-stricken, exhausted, and did not feel able to decide such a weighty issue. She did not know about the "closed door" meeting or the allegation that a full board vote for the CEO position of CRI had never taken place, until years later. In addition to this, several men approached Darlene and the CRI Board after my father's death, each stating that Walter Martin picked them as his successor, and she was afraid of an all out public battle for CRI."
"But was Hank the man of integrity that my father believed him to be, or did he come to CRI under false pretenses? If Walter Martin had been presented with all the evidence, would he have hired Hank?""...Hank Hanegraaff and Walter Martin were never close friends. At best, they were close acquaintances... He told me he liked Hank and his work, and would be hiring him for fund-raising purposes, i.e., marketing. He mentioned this several times to various members of his family and close friends--never once saying anything about naming him as his successor."
Since Walter Martin's Religious InfoNet first began two years ago, many people have written to ask their position on CRI and Hank Hanegraaff. In late 1997, Darlene Martin asked them to investigate allegations against Hank that were brought to her attention by close friends and other concerned Christians. After an intensive two year investigation into the situation at CRI, Walter Martin's Religious InfoNet is now publicly addressing this issue.
In 1994, approximately thirty employees of CRI formed The Group for CRI Accountability in an attempt to hold Hank Hanegraaff accountable for his actions. He refused to meet with them individually or as a group. Instead, Hank Hanegraaff dispatched lawyer into action, threatening legal action and punitive damages against former CRI Employees.
The LA Times Sunday, April 30, 2000 (Orange County Edition) ran a letter to the editor from Walter Martin's widow, Darlene Martin. It is the understanding of the Christian Sentinel editorial staff that the LA Times edited out some of Mrs. Martin's sharper, more damaging comments of Mr. Hanegraaff. Knowledge of this situation is merely the tip of the iceberg. It's only a matter of time that the whole picture of the hostile take-over of CRI will soon come into focus within the Christian community.
For more detailed information on this subject, see Walter Martin's Religious InfoNet.
LA Times, Orange County Edition
Sunday, April 30, 2000
Hanegraaff Wasn't 'Handpicked
After reading your article "Casting Stones" (April 15), I am writing to clarify several issues. First, my husband, Walter Martin, never "handpicked" anyone to succeed him at Christian Research Institute and "The Bible Answer Man" radio program. This claim was handed to me by someone I thought I could trust as I approached the lectern at my husband's memorial service. I read it for the first time--aloud--while standing in front of 1,500 people. It took me completely by surprise and put me in a very awkward position. I wish to take this opportunity now to apologize for allowing this statement to stand for so many years.
At the time of my husband's death, I believed Hank Hanegraaff was a man God could mold into a strong Christian leader, one who could play a positive role in leading CRI. I supported him loyally for six years before I came to see he was not the man I believed him to be. Secondly, one of our family's main objections to Hanegraaff's continued leadership is his mistreatment of fellow Christians. He has left a trail of wounded people behind him since the takeover of CRI in 1989. The testimonies against him include those who are his "right-hand" people, people who worked closely with him.
Hanegraaff has called repeatedly for accountability in other Christian leaders and should be held accountable himself.
DARLENE MARTIN
San Juan Capistrano
By ELAINE GALE, Times Staff Writer
LA
Times, Orange County Edition
Saturday, April 15, 2000
Orange County's "Bible Answer Man"--whose radio show, heard on 125
stations nationwide, has long been a thorn in the flesh of televangelists--is
facing a new battle, criticism from within his nonprofit organization.
Relatives of the late Walter Martin, founder of the Rancho Santa
Margarita-based Christian Research Institute, contend that Hank Hanegraaff has
departed from the organization's mission of debunking unusual religious claims.
They are demanding his resignation. Hanegraaff, 50, was Martin's handpicked
successor when the founder retired in 1979. But in recent years, Martin family
members have expressed concern about Hanegraaff's leadership.
After a public rift with Hanegraaff in 1996, Darlene Martin, widow of Walter Martin, resigned from the institute's board. Last October, the family sent Hanegraaff a letter detailing objections to his leadership.
"He's not the man we believed him to be," said Jill Martin Rische, Martin's eldest daughter and executor of his estate. "We just want someone in charge who will continue the clear vision my father had for CRI."
That vision, to be a leading think tank with a focus on evangelizing, has floundered, according to Rische, 42, who lives in St. Paul, Minn. Instead, she claims, Hanegraaff has used the nonprofit CRI as a platform to sell his books and promote his two for-profit organizations. She also said Hanegraaff hasn't returned some of her father's personal belongings and claims he has mismanaged personnel at CRI. Hanegraaff says the family's claims are unfounded and that CRI's mission has not changed since he took over in 1979.
"The basic concept has always been to equip people with the truth, so when a counterfeit looms on the horizon they know how to recognize it," he said.
Hanegraaff also rejected the Martins' claim that he uses the radio show to boost his royalty income. He said conditions of the organization's membership in the national Evangelical Council for Fiscal Accountability bars him from receiving royalties from sale of books or tapes through CRI. He acknowledged that he receives royalties from books sold in bookstores but said that radio listeners inspired to buy his books are more likely to get them directly from CRI. And in any case, he asked, "If I write books, why shouldn't I get royalties?"
Hanegraaff contends that he's paid a reasonable salary--$147,500 in the last fiscal year, the latest Christian Research Institute tax return shows. CRI took in nearly $7 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, its latest tax return shows. More than $6 million of that came in donations, with the balance from sales of merchandise.
As for papers or tapes that belonged to Martin, they have been returned, according to Elliot Miller, editor-in-chief of the Christian Research Journal and spokesman for CRI. However, he said, they are still unpacking things from a recent move, and if they come across any other possessions of Walter Martin's, those will be returned to the family.
Miller said the family's concern about Hanegraaff's management stems from concerns expressed to the family by people who were loyal to Martin or felt that Hanegraaff was too young when he was appointed. He added that some of the unhappy employees were laid off but received generous compensations. After that, Miller said, an orchestrated attempt to discredit Hanegraaff was launched.
"Some of the people left with a very bad taste in their mouth," Miller said. But Kurt Van Gorden, now mission director for Jude 3 Missions in Victorville, Calif., says the concern is greater than one of money or loyalty to Martin. Van Gorden was one of those former employees who was there in 1979 when the mantle of leadership moved from Martin to Hanegraaff. Van Gorden said he's been very disheartened by Hanegraaff's direction and his public scuffles with leading religious broadcasters. "CRI today is going in a different direction than its original purpose," Van Gorden said. "I wish that CRI or the Bible Answer Man program would do less attacking of Christians and more examination and evangelization of the cults."
But Hanegraaff maintains that his mission--while spreading the Christian message--is indeed to debunk what he calls myths commonly held by charismatic Christians, including tales of people speaking in tongues and of tooth fillings miraculously turning to gold. Hanegraaff, whose show is aired in more than 125 cities in the United States and Canada, operates from a huge Rancho Santa Margarita office with wooden bookcases, big windows, leather couches and paintings of serene golf scenes. His golf bag leans by his door, ready for a quick round. Hanegraaff lives in the gated community of Coto de Caza but says his salary is stretched thin by his eight children.
Hanegraaff said his focus hasn't wavered from his predecessor's and cites his
1997 book "Counterfeit Revival" as an example of his continued effort
to evangelize and expose Christian hypocrisy. He said he considers criticism of
charismatics to be just as important in today's society.
Shifting Away From Scripture Sitting in his plush studio, Hanegraaff pages
through his dog-eared bible and explains to listeners about what he sees as Christianity's shift from
an age of teaching Scripture to an age of experiential pandering. He has been an
outspoken critic of the Trinity Broadcasting Network in Costa Mesa and the Benny Hinn ministries, now with an Aliso Viejo office, both
of which he describes as organizations that "drag Christ's name through the
mud."
"People either love Hank or hate him," said Brandt
Gustavson,
president of the National Religious Broadcasters. "There's hardly any in
between." Indeed, Hanegraaff has amassed critics beyond the Martin family
during his two decades on the airwaves. Local televangelists such as Hinn
dismiss
him as a reactionary. "The kind of conduct [Hanegraaff] is suggesting isn't
in the scope of the Benny Hinn that I know," said Hinn spokesman David Brokaw of Los
Angeles.
But there are also strong Hanegraaff supporters.
"He's the watchdog who keeps religious broadcasters on their toes," said Stephen Winzenburg, communications scholar at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, who has studied religious broadcasters for 20 years. "He wants to publicly point out the inconsistencies of religious broadcasters." Hanegraaff was extremely critical of the recent hysteria surrounding the millennium and outright dismissed the preachers who hawked hysterical apocalyptic visions of the turn of the century. "If Christians aren't credible with current events, then how can they be relied on to speak credibly about events that happened 2,000 years ago, like the resurrection of Christ?" said Hanegraaff.
Winzenburg applauds Hanegraaff's role in the Christian community: "You don't have fellow Christians keeping their leaders accountable," he said. Hanegraaff even had a hand in the Pasadena-based Worldwide Church of God's conversion to mainstream evangelical Christianity in 1994 after meeting with leaders to implore them to return to a Biblically based interpretation of Christianity. But a lack of accountability from Hanegraaff is exactly the problem, according to the Martin family.
"The Bible Answer Man needs to set a positive example for Biblical accountability," said Rische. "This is not the case with Hank Hanegraaff, and CRI is better off without the negative notoriety Hank generates." But officials at CRI say Hanegraaff is doggedly continuing the work of Walter Martin.
"I believe that Hank not only has the boldness and vision that I so
respected in Walter Martin," Miller said. "But he also has the
leadership and business skills to make Martin's vision a reality, which he's
been doing
over the past 11 years."
Resources: (Note: Some of the content on the following sites is not necessarily the endorsed by Cultlink and Eastern Christian Outreach.)
Apologetics Index Religious Research Reports The Hank Hanegraaff Lawsuit Walter Martin's Religious Info Net
