Latest news with #LifeSurge
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Evangelical wealth building conference accused of exploitative sales tactics lands in Spokane Saturday
Jun. 5—Thousands will congregate in the Spokane Arena Saturday for the evangelical wealth building conference Life Surge, an all-day star-studded event that many describe as spiritually and fiscally fulfilling — but that also faces mounting accusations of leveraging faith and a megachurch atmosphere to lull attendees to buy $38,000 classes while even encouraging them to go into debt to do so. Life Surge declined an interview, requested written questions and did not respond to them. Saturday's event will be replete with celebrity evangelical speakers, most of whom have been traveling with Life Surge throughout the year or longer, such as former quarterback Tim Tebow, the Benham brothers — whose star rose in prominence after HGTV canceled their upcoming reality TV show "Flip it Forward" over statements opposing homosexuality and gay marriage — and former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany. They have previously featured TV stars from Duck Dynasty, Shark Tank and Road Rules. But Life Surge also has a knack for recruiting high-profile sports figures from the communities where they host their conferences. At a March conference in Hawaii, the organization highlighted Marcus Mariota, quarterback for the Washington Commanders and the first Hawaii-born athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. In Philadelphia, they recruited five current and former members of the Philadelphia Eagles. Spokane may not have a high-profile professional sports team, but it does have Gonzaga University men's basketball, so the featured regional speaker on Saturday is head coach Mark Few. Few did not respond to a request for comment; Gonzaga emphasized that neither the university nor the athletics department is involved in the event. The events mix compelling life stories and top-notch worship music with advice that organizers say can help attendees connect with God and build wealth for "Kingdom Impact" in order to better do God's work on earth. It's all encapsulated in "The 4 W's of Kingdom Impact": Worship, Wisdom, Work and Wealth. Since its founding in 2019, Life Surge has received hundreds of glowing reviews about its atmosphere, its musical and celebrity lineup, and its linking of Christ with financial well-being. The organization emphasizes this largely positive feedback whenever it faces criticism for the sales pitches Life Surge has sandwiched inside its conferences. It starts with the tickets to the conference itself. While the prices of Saturday's tickets have gone up marginally in the last three months, records of the tickets page on the Internet Archive suggest Life Surge made use of the perennial marketing trick of a steep time-sensitive discount, complete with a countdown clock that once expired appears to be immediately replaced with another timely offer. Though the site lists the basic tickets — called "executive" — at a full price of $97, the actual sale price appears to have started at $29 and never climbed above $40. The "ultimate" package, which includes photos with Tebow, Few and other featured speakers, is now only listed under its full price of $497, up from the Early Bird Special of $249, but the sale price only seems to have expired after those packages sold out sometime in April. Once at these conferences, attendees are reportedly pitched mid-session on further "Impact" workshops on the stock market, real estate and starting and growing a business, all for $97 dollars — an incredible deal, speakers proclaim from the stage, because the true value of the class is $1,500. This offer demands urgent action, because it is only available that very day at the conference — notably, tickets to these workshops only seem to be sold at the conference, and are not listed elsewhere, "full price" or not. "(The speakers) said you can learn how to build wealth that will help us feed the hungry, help veterans and of course the poor," said Christian Minister John Simmons, who made a critical video comparing the event to a timeshare sales pitch after attending a 2023 Life Surge conference in St. Louis. "I watched as a majority of the room stood up and were drawn into the arms of the volunteer army of Life Surge credit card readers." This felt exploitative, Simmons continued. The conference's prolific advertisements hadn't made mention of pitching him on future classes; they had highlighted guest speakers and Christian artists. "That's what I thought I was getting into when I bought a ticket — I bought a ticket for this event!" Simmons quipped. "I thought the conference was supposed to help me learn how to grow in work and wealth and wisdom and worship, but they were saying, nope, this three-day seminar, this thing will do it." Life Surge sent Simmons a cease-and-desist letter shortly after his video was posted, claiming it contained copyrighted materials from their event, he said. He has since reuploaded the video with nearly all photos or recordings from the event removed. The biggest pitch, however, is only made to people who do sign up for these additional three-day seminars. The workshops themselves have received mixed reviews, but once there, those who find the lessons insufficient are pitched on mentorship programs that cost as much as $38,000. For those who question whether they can afford to spend the equivalent of a down payment on a house on a wealth-building mentorship program, Life Surge reportedly has an answer: debt. Leading up to this last big pitch, from the conference to the workshops, attendees have reported being assuaged by speakers that there are two good reasons to go into debt: real estate and "wisdom." Attendees have reported being encouraged to dip into retirement accounts to pay for these classes. If attendees don't have those kinds of assets, credit card applications are reportedly available on site, according to a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article about the organization and its founder Joe Johnson's past business dealings. In response to critical reviews of these tactics, Life Surge has repeatedly argued that they state on their website that they offer additional services, though they don't address the lack of transparency regarding the specific offerings. When criticized specifically for encouraging people to go into debt for mentorship programs, the organization appears to double down. "Life Surge believes in being the hands and feet of Jesus by equipping others with resources — but to do that, we must first be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us by the Lord, serving others and not being held back by a position of lack," the organization has replied to dozens of negative reviews and complaints to the Better Business Bureau. In response to questions from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Life Surge appears to have argued that criticism of its offerings is not based in good-faith concerns about their practices, but rather an attack on their faith itself. "Life Surge is not for everyone. It is unapologetically a faith-based organization helping people take control of their own financial future by empowering them with the skills to become successful investors," the organization wrote. "This brave, honest, and faith-filled stance can be antithetical to viewpoints of others and as such we expect criticism."
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Why are members of the Super Bowl champion Eagles promoting a right-wing Christian wealth scheme?
The thousands who gathered on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia weren't there for a basketball or hockey game. Instead, the 21,000-seat arena played host to a very different spectacle. The stage was bathed in lights, Christian pop thundered from the speakers and the congregation filed in to hear not just sermons, but also strategies: how to get right with God and get rich doing so. The headliners were five current and former members of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Head coach Nick Sirianni, star running back Saquon Barkley, second-year cornerback Cooper DeJean, and longtime fan favorites Brandon Graham and Brian Dawkins all appeared on promotional materials for Life Surge, a touring Christian financial seminar that promises attendees a blueprint 'to grow and use wealth for Kingdom impact'. Ticket packages offering photo ops with the players sold out in advance. In the extended afterglow of the Eagles' Super Bowl beatdown of the Kansas City Chiefs, it was a marketing no-brainer: there may not be five public figures with higher popularity at the moment in Philadelphia, a city where sports have always meant a little too much. Yet for all the spiritual rhetoric and NFL star power, Life Surge was built on a business model repeatedly criticized in investigative reports by the Guardian, the Philadelphia Inquirer and others as one that uses faith and celebrity as bait for high-cost financial mentorships. The man behind the operation, Joe Johnson, is a self-described 'serial entrepreneur' whose past ventures have been subject to lawsuits, tax controversies and accusations of exploiting Christian values for profit. Johnson has declined requests for interviews but told the Inquirer, which published a detailed investigation into Life Surge last week, that his failures taught him to become a better business leader. Yet critics describe a pattern that goes back years. Johnson was previously an executive at Get Motivated, a now defunct seminar company that sold expensive investing classes wrapped in conservative Christian branding. One former attendee, Amy Wolfe, said Johnson persuaded her to loan him $12m under the guise of mentorship. She says she never got it back. 'They're predators who want to be your mentors,' Wolfe told the Inquirer. 'It happened to me.' The model has hardly changed. Life Surge offers low-cost entry – sometimes as little as $19 – but attendees are soon encouraged to sign up for $97 'starter' seminars, then pitched on advanced training packages that can run as high as $40,000. Credit card applications are often made available on-site and attendees have reported being encouraged to cash out retirement accounts or go into debt. One man, a Christian minister named John Simmons, compared the atmosphere to a timeshare presentation. When he posted a critical YouTube review of his experience, Life Surge sent him cease-and-desist letters and takedown notices. Social media platforms like Reddit are full of horror stories claiming the organization preys on the faith of financially naive Christians. On Saturday in Philadelphia, across the street from the stadium where the Eagles will raise their second Super Bowl banner in September, the event's branding emphasized faith, success and patriotism, but carefully avoided any official association with the team or the NFL. Earlier versions of promotional artwork used team-style typography and labelled Sirianni the 'Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach'. Those references were scrubbed after questions arose in March. A team spokesperson went on to tell the Inquirer that the Eagles had no affiliation with the event. Still, the message was clear: these were NFL champions backing the product. When DeJean was asked about the Life Surge event after an Eagles practice session last week, the Super Bowl hero said simply, 'They came to my management team'. The other four did not comment. A Life Surge spokesperson confirmed that all five were paid a flat appearance fee but declined to say how much. This was not a one-off. A 2022 Guardian report from a Life Surge event in Denver painted a strikingly similar picture: a day of worship music, motivational speakers and calls to 'surge your wealth' as a Christian duty. 'Grow your faith to grow your business,' one session instructed. The former NFL star and evangelical hero Tim Tebow, reality TV star Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty and other conservative Christian luminaries like Kayleigh McEnany filled out the program, while the crowd dined on Chick-fil-A. At one point, a speaker asked, 'Why on earth are we not buying Twitter?' and encouraged the audience to pool their resources to fight 'the devil' taking over American culture. Financial success, attendees were told, was not just personal; it was spiritual warfare. Life Surge's Philadelphia spectacle also echoed a more recent playbook in Columbus, the college town where the Ohio State Buckeyes football team inspires a religious fervor. There, the organization tapped into local sporting legends with former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit and several Ohio State football players. According to the Rooster, attendees paid up to $997 for a ticket, with a chance to win photo ops with the stars. Meanwhile, speakers pitched $97 investment classes on the arena floor and sent card readers through the concession lines. The football figures did not directly endorse the seminars, but their proximity to the brand helped attract and validate the crowd. The same cosmetic firewall between pitchmen and athletes was visible in both cities. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion At every stop, Life Surge appears to follow the same formula: emotionally charged Christian messaging, conservative talking points and financial promises, all propped up by local sports heroes. It functions as a touring prosperity gospel roadshow, while denying that's what it is. Speakers at recent tour stops have included some of the NFL's most recognizable names, such as Joe Montana and Emmitt Smith, while the Hall of Famer turned broadcaster Michael Strahan is on the slate for next month's event in Newark, New Jersey. Beneath the stagecraft and scripture, Johnson's record tells a different story. His previous companies, including the Welfont Group, a real estate firm that marketed dubious tax shelters, have been sued repeatedly. Public records show at least six cases where courts found that appraisals were inflated to artificially boost deductions, ultimately costing clients millions. Johnson insists he left Welfont before the lawsuits began and says he has no knowledge of pending legal actions. But court documents show the deals in question happened while he was CEO. In addition to Welfont, Johnson ran a series of Christian-themed nonprofits and investment initiatives that folded amid controversy. One charity, which claimed to offer microloans in developing countries, spent most of its budget on executive salaries and fundraising, according to a Tampa Bay Times investigation. Another declared bankruptcy with $16m in debts. Despite this trail of ventures, Life Surge has flourished since its 2019 launch in Palmetto, Florida, not as a ministry but as a for-profit limited liability company. It sold more than 100,000 tickets for events in more than two dozen cities last year and boasts a 98% satisfaction rate, according to internal surveys. Its spokespeople point to glowing Google reviews and Trustpilot scores. Yet the pattern of complaints persists, from attendees who felt blindsided by the costs, to critics who say the seminars mask old-fashioned hucksterism in a veneer of righteousness. For the Eagles' devoted supporters, many who wore team-branded gear to Saturday's event, the presence of their heroes on that stage was surely a thrill. For Life Surge, it was a promotional coup. But for those in the audience already struggling financially, the real cost may not be clear until long after the music fades and the arena empties out. Neither Life Surge nor the Eagles responded to requests for comment from the Guardian for this story.
