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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Markoff who wrote (10274)	12/27/1997 12:44:00 PM
From: Jamey	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

Nothing new under the sun....Still, its a sign of the times. Saturday, December 27, 1997 -- 11:38 am Embattled Pastor Says He Won't Resign ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (EP) -- Despite allegations of adultery, high living, and financial misdeeds, the Rev. Henry Lyons says he has no intention of resigning as president of the 8.5-million-member National Baptist Convention USA. Though allegations of misuse of church funds are being investigated by state and federal authorities, Lyons says he does not expect to face criminal charges. In a press conference held at his Bethel Metropolitan Church Dec. 3, he insisted that he is innocent of financial wrongdoing. "I have never, even up to this day, reached into the offering plate and taken money that parishioners gave to this church every single Sunday," Lyons claimed. "I have not taken a single dime from any church or from the convention." "I have sinned," Lyons admitted. "I am a preacher who made serious errors in judgment." However, he added, "I am not a monster. I am no devil. I am a man, and despite whatever you may write I am still a child of God." Lyons is accused of misusing corporate donations to the denomination, of diverting funds intended for rebuilding burned black churches, and of accepting $350,000 in payments from Nigeria's military government. Lyons said he had voluntarily amended his income tax returns to reflect "a substantial increase" in personal income since 1995. Lyons also apologized "to any of the churches that may have suffered" because of his failure to use a $225,000 from the Anti-Defamation League and the National Urban League for its intended purpose: the repair of black churches damaged by arson. Lyons failed to distribute the funds, and wound up having to return it to donors. Lyons apologized for his pursuit of an opulent lifestyle that included expensive homes and luxury cars. "I am accountable for my own weaknesses. For that, I am truly sorry," he said. He also said that he was wrong when he suggested that his critics were motivated by racism. The St. Petersburg Times recently reported that more than $1 million intended for the denomination may have been laundered through a secret bank account in Wisconsin. Lyons refused to answer questions during the news conference, and his attorney said that nothing the pastor said should be taken as admission of criminal wrongdoing. Lyons, 55, has been in the headlines since July 6, when his wife was charged with setting fire to a home that Lyons secretly co-owned with Bernice Edwards, a convicted embezzler he had hired as director of corporate relations for the denomination. Lyons said he plans to serve out the remaining three years of his term as president of the nation's largest black denomination, and to continue as minister of his church. "I believe God's work with me is not done," he concluded.